Awaken: Book 1: Beginnings
by Inferno 54
Summary: First and formost, this is not mythology. This is my original story, and all characters are OC's. Rated M for graphic violence, language, and possibly gore. First chapter is a short prologue, read and reveiew.
1. Chapter 1 Beginning of an Era

(A.N.) Hello, I'm Inferno 54, and this is the story I've been planning for years to post, so even if it sucks, I'm seeing this through to the end of its roughly 100 chapters. This is a completely Oc Story, the plot and characters belong to me, however I've based several themes in the duration of the story that relate to such topics as Naruto. This may not be my first fic, but this is the one I'm taking seriously. And to you flamers, you are completely welcome here, your harsh comments make me laugh and bring much enjoyment to my life knowing you have no life and have nothing better to do than try to insult me for being different from what you call acceptable =D. That goes for any fics I may create in the future as well. Constructive criticism is recommended, and all reviews are appreciated, and at one point or another will be responded to. I know, there are way too many dates that i put in this chapter, forgive me but I'm setting in a definite time line. Will eventually contain heavy language, graphic violence, possibly gore, a bit of romance, and the other topics that make good stories. Sci-fi and Fantasy for taking place in future and impossible actions (Ex. Abillity to controll fire) Read and Review.

Awaken: Book 1: Beginnings

Chapter 1: Beginning of a New Era

Year log: 2577, many things have changed on the planet Earth in the past five and a half centuries. Long ago, people pictured the future to be full of electronic advances, of microchips and robots and skyscrapers that broke the atmosphere in their brilliance. No one foresaw how the world would turn. In 2349, a great chemist discovered a combination of chemicals and compounds that brought about the greatly fantasized about super weapon, superpowers. The incredible substance once entered into the bloodstream, made soldiers stronger, faster, more intelligent, and able to control certain elements depending on their personalities.

The project was a complete success and adopted by the government immediately. However, an unintentional side affect took charge, it was contagious, through direct contact others would slowly develop the effects of the mighty drug, and children of those affected also inherited the powers. Needless to say, by the year 2500, humanity was an advanced race.

Do to superior human ability, all old weapons became obsolete, an on guard opponent could out maneuver even bullets if they were precise enough. Do to this, technology reverted, blades once again became popular in combat, though not used in war, they were the main object used in personal affairs. Guns had to become more efficient, Weapon specialists got their hands on the material needed to create guns that shot from aeropropulsion and pressure. This was botheasier to produce, and needed less natural resources, thus bettering the economy, withall new productions of guns and swords, world stocks and economy levels skyrocketed, jobs also became available to teach others how to responsibly and accurately use their powers. One invention led to another, producers withtheir increased intellect came up with ideas for classic futuristic inventions, flying transportation, teleportation, and cloning.

However, cloning remained imperfect, due to the fact of memory strands were near impossible to replicate, making the cloned specimens unstable, and a threat to society. So cloning of humans remained illegal, several violators were arrested for their attempts.

The digital world, as one could easily imagine, escalated to new heights. One could now create a digital object and project it in perfect 3rd dimensions, thus, the hologram. The internet contained more information than ever; one could even locate their basic household objects from their computer.

The governments of the world couldn't resist the military opportunities being thrust before them. After several heated international arguments, World War III broke out in 2522. In the midst of the chaos, much of the world's cities were heavily damaged. The world became dissected into the older, larger cities, and the newer, smaller towns and villages. But those didn't come to creation until the war was settled in 2558. The fighting of over 30 years suddenly was over; all countries became united by a reformed U.N. This now oversaw the world as a whole instead of individual countries needs. Now that the war was over, with an estimated casualties of 140,000,000, the world could finally rebuild, and so, in the heart of America, the village of Dalthesan was created.

Construction finished in 2560, and so, for ten years in this small village of a population of 47, the Balthen family flourished, bringing two children, who would both have a huge part in war to come, two brothers, with two very different paths. Dexter Farris Balthen, born August 9th 2560, exactly four months after the creation of the town, now age 17, is the eldest brother of Tyson Delton Balthen, age 15 born October 4th 2562. And so, on warm morning on the 16th of March 2577, two brothers wake up unknowingly to that that will forever change their lives, force them to their destinies. On this day, it begins.

Awaken

(A.N.) Alright, consider this a prologue, the real story begins in the next chapter. I know this chapter sucks, those who are patient are rewarded, I Will try to keep updates weekly, Remember to review, flamers, I eagerly await what you have to say to me. I'm serious. And untill next time,

Inferno54


	2. Chapter 2 Beginning of a Legend

(A.N.) Welcome back, you get mch more action this time around. The same Author Note applies, this is not Mythology, All characters belong to me, there will be reletive themes to other topics, see if you can find one, I'll list one at the end of the make me happy, flamers make me laugh . Enjoy Chapter 2

Awaken: Book of Beginnings

Ch apter 2: Beginning of a Legend

_Sometimes, the world is unpredictable. No matter what we as free people do, fate will find us. And from this day on, I must accept that._

Light breaks my thoughts as the sun rises to just the right angle of my window, and beads into my eyes.

"What a weird dream" I yawn as I stretch. _Unpredictable? Fate? What does this have to do with me? What is it? March 16. _I jolt fully awake.

"March 16th!" I moan, "What time is it?" I say as I check my watch._ Last day we'll be together before Ally leaves, we were all going to meet at the park at 10:00am. _9:58 the watch reads back to me. _The park is what half a mile away?_ _CRAP!_

I quickly throw on my favorite outfit, my signature attire, dark tan cargo pants, and a black sleeveless undershirt with an unbuttoned short sleeve shirt, white with orange and yellow flames. I run downstairs nearly flying out the front door before being caught by my mom.

"Tyson! What's the rush? Sit down and eat with the family." My mom tells me.

"Sorry, I overslept and am supposed to be at the park in," I again check my watch. "5 minutes ago!" I say sprinting out the door.

My brother Dexter yells something to me but I don't bother to listen to him, I'll ask him about it after the going away party. _Wait till' she sees the- I forgot Allyvia's gift!_

I make a quick U-turn and open the training shack in the back of my house, "There it is" I remark upon seeing the present I had gotten her, a hand crafted locket with the picture of the entire town's population at the last Anniversary celebration, it's all the more special because it had all of us in the front row, first Allyvia, then myself, with my arm slung around Robert, and next to him, Devante.

"Need to get to the party!" I say as I begin my sprint again. My lungs begin to burn as the outline of the park begins to show itself on the horizon of the hill. I check my watch once more before facing my friends, 10:20, _shit I'm in for it._

My first look at my buddies wasn't a pleasant one, Devante scowling, Robert the same, Ally hanging her head, the cake had all the candles blown out. Not good.

"Twenty minutes late, wow, a new record eh, Tyson?" Robert commented, rather harshly.

"Hey! I overslept, alright? I was up all night working on _our_ gift to Allyvia." I retorted.

"Oh wah, we all had to pitch in something. It's not our fault you couldn't do your part on time." Devante mocked with a glare.

"Oh really? And what were your parts? You bring the cake and have Robert set up the decorations while I _hand make a locket?_" I state while extending the stainless steel creation to the female of the group.

Her eyes glittered at the gift, apparently bringing her out of her depression. "Tyson, it's beautiful, thank you." She said as she got up and gave me a friendly hug.

"H-hey! We helped!" Robert yelped.

"Yeah it was our idea! And we supplied the picture!" Devante added.

_Credit hogs. Just trying soil my good intentions, one last cheap shot before Allyvia goes away, because she always liked me best. __**Assholes.**_ "And I only supplied the metal, the mill, the personalizations, screws, and inscription. By the way check the back of it Ally." I smirked as I handed it to her.

"Alright we give, truce?" Robert asked.

"Truce" we all agreed.

_**XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx**_

After several hours, the party was packed up, and we were getting ready for our final goodbyes when out of the blue…

"Does anyone hear that?" Devante asked.

"Yeah, what is it? It sounds like a parade is going through town. Or maybe an army." Robert stated.

_Wait, Dexter was about to join the world peacekeeping order, can that have anything to do with this? They'd have to evaluate him after all. _

A blood curdling scream erupted and filled the air with its noise, followed by another, and another, soon, it sounded as if the whole town was in the midst of a massacre.

"Holy shit what's going on?" Devante gasped.

Smoke began to rise in the distance. "Guys, we need to get Ally to that moving truck. It's suddenly become too dangerous." I said. "Did anybody bring a weapon? From the sound of it, we might need it." I was desperately trying to keep my rising fear in check. Today had officially gone to hell.

"I always keep my pistol on me; I've got about 2 clips, so let's avoid any serious conflict." Robert stated.

"Good, let's move" Devante ordered. "Allyvia, stay behind us."

"I'll protect you," I promised, "You're gonna get out of here, whatever the hell is going on wont stop that." We began to sprint toward the southern border of town, where Ally's family was supposed to meet her. The smoke grew closer, and it became clear that our town was being invaded.

The moving truck! Finally, about 3/4ths the way there the truck had driven to them. "Stop!" Robert demanded pointing his pistol at the truck. Said vehicle quickly halted. Allyvia's father hopped out and hugged his girl.

"Allyvia! Thank god you're safe!" he cried.

"Mr. Fogarty, what's happening?" I inquired.

"The towns ablaze and the peacekeepers are slaughtering everyone in sight! It's a bloodbath back there!" I'd take you out of here but there's no room!" He rushed.

"Forget us! Get her out of here!" Robert yelled.

"Thanks guys! I promise I won't forget you! Stay safe, please!" Allyvia said.

"Don't worry, I'll see you soon, I promise Ally, now go!" I yelled, hoping I was right.

Soon the truck was out of sight and Allyvia with it.

"Alright, split up, find your families, and get the hell out of here!" Devante yelled as we ran for the town gate.

"Guys, it's been an honor being your friends, we may never see each other again, even if we do manage to survive this." I said, keeping myself from tearing up. This was the worst day of my life, and I may have just lost my lifelong friends.

"If we do survive this, after these guys leave meet in the clearing east of town, then we decide what to do." My African friend shouted.

"Right! Be brave boys!" Robert retorted.

"Boys? You're a little short to call us boys Robert." I snickered. He gave a death glare. "Sorry, just trying to lighten the mood." _Bad timing as always Tyson._ We had arrived at the gate and split up, dashing behind buildings to avoid the blood red armor clad soldiers storming the street, with a black D bracing the breast, that supposedly stood for democracy, decency, and so on, right now, different words raced through my mind. _Destruction, Diabolic, __**Dictation.**_ The screams began to grow thin as they began to run out of people to slaughter.

_Please, please, please. _I begged, but to no avail. As I approached my house, I realized it was ablaze, there were too many guards, my lungs were on fire from the amount of running, I wasn't in the best shape, and the smoke entering my lungs, I saw my father lying on the ground, a pool of blood surrounding him. "Damnit!" I whisper, I feel the tears come and well up in my eyes.

I duck into the shack behind the house, there's food, water, and a few swords I and my brother used to fight with, along with guns my dad and I practiced with. I load my revolver, and take up the broad sword with my name carved into the handle. "If they come back here, I'm ready." I say

"God I hope I'm ready" I pray.

Awaken

(A.N.) Hope you enjoyed, remember to review, all construcive critism is apreciated and all review will be responded to. Could you find the theme I mentioned earlier? Town being bvurned to the ground and being invaded while the main character is at the park: this is from Fable. The first fable game had a simmular beginning, you may find themes from other fable games, but that will be the main one, the next chapter is done and will be posted next week.


	3. Chapter 3 Beginning of Revenge

(A.N) Alright I'm back. First instance of gore finally appears! Enjoy that, I wont be listing any themes this week, but tell me if you find one! Do I really need to go through this is not Mythology again? If you didn't get it the last two times you probably wont this time bring joy, flames bring laughter. And yes, the chapters are growing progressively longer, I don't know how long that will last, but enjoy it while it's here. Chapter 3

Awaken: Book of Beginnings

Chapter 3: Beginning of Revenge

_After all hands are dealt, there will still be an ace in the hole. Even such, this is a double edged sword._

I wake, for three days, I've lain in wait of capture, surviving off the little food and water always stored in the shack for hazard purposes, I've listened to the occasional scream of someone in hiding be caught. The Intruders decided not to burn the most luxurious of the houses and bed in there. The stench of death reeks more by the hour, and the smoke been cleared, making it all the more easy to detect. One very close, I would assume my father, I know he tried to defend himself, he must of. However no man alive could have single handily defeated this onslaught with a broadsword and a shotgun. Hopefully my mom had a chance to escape and catch up with Dexter, who should have left soon after I did to go to his military capability exam.

Guilt suddenly racked my mind. "I- I never said goodbye, I knew he was leaving and I never said goodbye." I whispered, another thought crossed my mind. "I didn't tell my folks how much I loved them either." Tears now poured down my face, for the hundredth time since the incident, I was crying. Hearing the people you grew up with scream and beg for mercy, only to be cut down, it leaves you in an emotional wreck. I had to learn to control my noise outtake, and fast, unless I wanted to share the fate of the rest of the village. Good thing I'm quick at picking things up, or I would most definitely be screwed.

_If only I could do this week over again, I would have finished the locket two days early, gone to bed early the day after, so I could've gotten up on time to eat breakfast and get to the party, and leave in time to fight alongside dad. I'd have loved to die in his place. But… I'm alive, yes! Yes I'm alive! I can still make up for this; I can rebel against this tyranny! I'll kill as many of those blood thirsty monsters as I can as long as I can survive this._

I look down to my food supply, _I've only been eating a meal a day, so from the look of it,_ _damn, only two more days worth of food, and I still have 7 bottles of water. Dad, thank you so much for keeping this shack so well stocked, you saved my life, If only I could have done the same._

I jerk my head up at the sound of commotion outside. I look through a space in the wood frame to see what was happening, while perking my ears and listen closer, more intently at the conversation between the superior and the invaders.

"All right men, mission accomplished. The threat previously identified has been eradicated through elimination, any and all witnesses have been terminated, and we are free to return to H.Q. Am I correct?" The apparent superior asked his men.

"Sir yes sir!" Said the troop of home destroyers unanimously.

_I swear to you God, I will track down every one of these men, I will kill them all, and I will not sleep peacefully until this deed is done._ I vowed, completely devoted to every word. If not for my dedication to killing them all, I would have charged them gun and blade right now. However, a teen against a government trained group of elite soldiers? Odds not exactly in my favor.

"Good! Now men, proceed home!" The general commanded, each man lining single file and beginning the track to whichever hellhole they came from. Well, all except for two. I zoned in to their conversation.

"Hey, what are you waiting for? The general gave an order!" Soldier 1 said harshly.

"Calm yourself, I'll be right there, I'm just going to grab… a souvenir of sorts. Go ahead." Said the 2nd soldier, in a dreadfully chilling tone.

"Whatever, It's your damn head, _not_ mine." Stated the 1st soldier while he ran to catch up with the rest of his troop. Leaving the other soldier to stand alone, he waited to make sure they were out of range.

_Yes! He's staying behind! And his men are leaving, so after this first taste of revenge, it's off to the forest clearing to see who survived. Hell I made it, Robert had weapons, and I didn't hear his scream or Devante's for that matter! _I thought joyously as my hopes rose. _Wait!_ I snapped to attention. _Shit he's walking towards me!_

"So glad that no one else noticed this little shack." The demonic man stated gleefully. "If I'm lucky, there just might be an extra kill waiting for me in there!"

_10 steps closer and we'll see about that. _I tightly grip my blade and turn the safety off my revolver. _6, 5, 4,3,2,1, Eat it __**bitch**_**. **His hand grips the handle of the door as I raise my arm to point at where his forehead will be. This is the moment of truth. My heart begins to race faster with each passing second; I let adrenaline take over. The door swings open.

"Drop your weapon now or I will shoot! Your troops gone and you're at my mercy!" I Command forcibly, however that confidence is only skin deep, my spine shivers and I try my hardest to keep my voice from cracking.

"Cute kid, watcha got there? A water pistol?" He cackles as he reaches for his firearm.

I shoot a warning shot slightly away from his head, still nicking his ear out of anger (and a shaking hand) causing him to fall on his ass, eyes now wide with the realization of fear and seriousness while clutching his now bleeding ear. "No, a personalized magnum revolver. Next time you question me, I won't just nick your ear, I shoot between the eyes, clear?" H e nodded in absolute **terror**. "Good, now, here's how this will go, I will ask a question, you will answer, if I feel like you're lying or if you hesitate, you risk you're life, if I make a demand, you comply. Simple enough, right?" I can't lie, being in power of another's life feels so empowering, I would enjoy these moments leading to the first act of my vengeance.

He nodded in confirmation."First, hand over your firearm, and all your ammo." He complied, handing over the Government Issue air shooter, and 15 clips. "Now, why did government enforcers just slaughter my family?" I spat.

"Nothing personal kid, Leader commanded that we neutralize a possible threat, background checks confirmed a former member of an opposing force to his order lived in your town, then we receive a request for one of your villagers to join our enforcing squadron, facts are that your village might have been in on this in an effort to infiltrate us. As former member of said force, that person must have known the truth about Leader." He said straight faced.

"Now who is 'Leader'" I questioned

"Who the hell do you think retard! Our_ leader_! Oh big shocker isn't it?" He mocked

I pressed the unforgiving cold barrel of the revolver against his temple. "Watch your tone around your captor." I snarl menacingly. "Now give me a name, description, whatever you know."

"Ya know kid, he's pretty smart, and not letting any of us know any information about him, especially in my case, was apparently genius. What I can tell you, is he's merciless. If you learn anything about him, you mark yourself for execution." The very aggravated soldier said, somewhat unwillingly, as if he still feared this 'Leader' would find him here and kill him even saying his name.

"All right, what's the name of your group?" I said, growing tired of getting nowhere.

"Kid look at the uniform, we really are from the government, like it or not, Leader is a powerful man, and he wanted the threat that came from your town eliminated. We are government enforcer squadron 0350, but we call ourselves otherwise, as do all who know Leaders true nature, we are the Dictation, he is the world's dictator, and he may do whatever to his people as he sees he is fit to." He smirked. I couldn't believe this asshole.

Now I was furious, I no longer could see straight from my anger, I dropped the revolver. "Alright you're free to go." He got up and smirked again before he began to walk off. "Oh wait one more thing." I said, a bit devilishly. He spun around, that first look of fear had returned to his eyes. "Remember when your buddy told you that 'It's your head, _not_mine!'?" He nodded. "You should have listened" I charged him and with one swift slash from my broadsword I beheaded one of the devils that killed all that I once loved and cared about. I watched as the blood spurted from his neck, squirting me in the face and covering the ground below in the crimson liquid. I watch ashe fell to his knees and finally hit the ground, his head sputtered and coughed blood, still living a few moments after decapitation, truly a hellish torture. I decide to put him out of his misery by shooting him in the skull several times, watching as brain and skull fragments went in all different directions, some bits even landing on me, I was now drenched in his blood, and it felt great. Killing someone feels amazing! Its incredible! You're always told of hiw much guilt you feel, but that doesn't come untill later, while it's happening, you feel like you are God! In controll of life and death, crushing those who oppose you. I hate this man so much that I may never feel the guilt, he chose his path, and I chose that the path ended at my blade.

Leaves suddenly rustle in the distance. _Shit a spy! Goddamn it t all to hell! Time to get to the clearing! Before the guys think I'm dead! _I wipe away the blood and brain from my face, and begin to sprin away from the area towards the clearing.

But before I leave my house I notice my deceased father's body. It looked much the same as the beheaded soldier in the back of the house. His face forever has death etched on. His body was just a few feet away. I notice his Celtic cross chain, his prize heirloom from his father, lain on the ground between the torso and head. I take it and place the chain around my neck, making a vow.. _Each and every one of Government Enforcer squadron 0350 will die. Dictation, I'm coming for you!_ I cross my body much like a Catholic does before and after prayer, and again sprint off for the rendezvous point.

_Hold on just a little longer guy's, wait for me!_ I plead in my head. _I'm almost there._

I passed much destruction and many bodies; each one I passed further fuelled my vow to kill the perpetrators all the more. Soon I was dead center of the clearing. "**Devante! Robert! Come out! I'm Alive!**" I yell, hoping, hoping for an answer.

"So you are." Said a mysterious voice.

Awaken

(A.N) Now who is the mysterious figure? Is it a friend or foe? And what happened to Devante and Robert? Which of these questions will be answered in the next chapter? You'll find out next time. Sorry for the late update, Mediacom sucks and my internet was out for the whole weekend because of it. Read and review.


	4. Chapter 4 Beginning of Rebellion

(A.N.) Alright, who's ready for some answers? This chapter is smaller than the last one, but it's still longer than chapter one. Again, not listing any themes, but if you find one, review about about, previous warnings apply.

Awaken: Book of Beginnings:

Chapter 4: Beginning of Rebellion

_Come now, rebel with a rebel, yell, raise hell, and let's let them know! _

I spun myself around and immediately pointed my revolver on the speakers head. "Who are you? Are you with the Dictation? Answer me!" I yelled out.

"Testy testy, at least you already know about the Dictation." Smirked the mysterious man, he had somewhat of a dark glow to him, as if there was something… eerily wrong with him. "No, I'm not with the bastards that destroyed your home, I am sorry for your loss, and that my men couldn't come here sooner."

I scoped my surroundings, the slightly smoldered trees, the burnt bushes, the still ashy sky, I saw no 'men' of this man. Suddenly, my gut wretched, for the first time I had actually _looked _at my surroundings, the destruction, and the seriousness hit me. _I'm all alone, they're all dead! My friends, my family, all gone, forever. _The image of my father flashed in my mind, the blood stained to the dirt of the ground. Then suddenly my friends flashed into my head. His disembodied head, the shock of death forever etched to his face.

Devante, always the goofball, the African oriented boy moved in some 10 years ago. He was never really bright though, he embraced the fact he was obese and he used it on and off the training field. Years ago, when he first learned that humans could grow the ability to control elements he dedicated himself t controlling them all. However, all he managed was starting fires and giving off serious static shocks to Robert and I. Even so he was still a faithful friend, and I always got him back, especially when it came to jokes, we had the same sense of humor and I was the smarter one, i.e. I always beat him in a battle of the wisecracks. Robert and I were practically born together, so we naturally became close friends. He was always a sensitive kid, but he made up for it with excellent marksmen ship with guns, his dream was to go into combat opps if there would ever be another war and set a record for headshots with his sniper rifle. And, I honestly never doubted that he would. Then there was… Allyvia. She had moved in about 2 or 3 years after Devante. She was kind of an outcast, mostly stayed to herself, and kept quiet. One day she just asked me for some help with schoolwork. From that day on, we bonded into friends, it wasn't easy getting the guys to let her into the group, but I had pulled it off and they deny ever not wanting her along with us.

Wait! We had gone to school the next town over, which was slightly larger and could accommodate the kids from both places. If we were attacked then they might be in danger! My school friends, my favorite teachers, they might all be next. My stomach wretched again, I dropped to my knees and vomited, emptying my barely filled stomach.

"Who, who _are_ you?" I said embarrassed that out of nowhere, the last survivor of the village of Dalthesan had just vomited.

The mysteriously dark man was dressed in black boots, combat pants; also black as night, armored cuirass like shirt that looked much the same, other than a silver A over the heart about the size of a fist. He wore a tattered blood red scarf, which looked to actually have been covered in caked blood over his mouth and neck. He also wore sunglasses over his eyes, making the finer details of his face impossible to read or describe. He looked as if he was some sort of agent who planned to single handedly overthrow the invaders of my home.

"Me? I am the leader of a rebel group. We heard a small town was being attacked, so a small elite force of our group came to see if we could save anyone, I'm sorry but we came just too late. Those monsters escaped."

When I heard he was trying to come save us, I immediately began to respect him; I pocketed my gun, wiped my mouth, and stood up. "Not all of them" I smirked; he gave me an inquisitive look. "One of them stuck around after the rest had left, I had interrogated him, and then took vengeance for my village, I beheaded him just like they beheaded my dad!" I yelled out in fiery rage.

"So, you are willing to kill to achieve vengeance?" He asked me.

"Absolutely" I replied.

"Would you be willing to sacrifice yourself for that vengeance?" He shouted out.

"Only every day of my life!" I shouted back

"Would sacrifice innocent lives to achieve vengeance?" He asked deathly serious.

I suddenly snapped out of what sounded like a heroic speech. "What? NO! I will never sacrifice innocent lives! That would make me just as bad as them! Is that how your little rebellion works? You dare to shed innocent blood in an attempt to save those exact people? You're sick!" I shouted out, quickly drawing out my gun. With a malicious snarl I cock the revolver.

Before I knew it my face was planted in the dirt. I was attacked from behind! "Kid, you should wait for an answer before you decide to kill someone." A feminine voice said from behind.

"But to answer your questions, no, that is not what we do. So kid, we'll give you an… audition, if you will, to join us.

I stood up and wiped the dirt off my face, "And who are you?" I asked again.

"Ah ah ah." The female behind me taunted, I turned around to look at her, she had black hair with a purple bandana over her scalp, and she also wore a similar, but more feminine outfit as the dark man, without the scarf or shades. "We can't let you know anything unless you pass the audition."

"And how do I do that?" I asked.

She put on a devilish smirk, "It's easy, and all you have to do is beat me in a test of skills."

I swallowed hard; she had easily disarmed me before. "And what skills would those be."

"My favorites, survival," as she spoke she pulled out what looked like small explosive devises "and combat.

_Shit. _The action jump started, she suddenly was throwing explosives like there was no tomorrow. The clearing around me turned into a mine field. I dodged left right, jump duck, anything to stay alive, before i knew it she was in a frenzy, none of the bombs were detonating, but I had to be carefull. Her face was drop dead serious and she was relentless. _If I'm gonna get out of here alive, I need to go to offensive… Wait did I even get an option to take this test or did she just start attacking me? That psycho bitch._ So I began to retaliate, I jumped over her land mines and began slashing at her with my sword; flipping into the swings, adding power and athleticism to our bout. This was a test, And I had to show I knew what I was doing. Even If I didn't get the option to refuse. She effortlessly avoided all contact with the blade, and pulled out a small remote.

"Sorry kid, they're remote detonators. Goodbye." She smirked and waved.

The whole time, the dark man was observing me, grading me, deciding if I was good enough, for what? For vengeance? _Fuck him; I can get my vengeance with or without his approval._

I was standing right over one. _Shit shit shit_. I pulled out my revolver and shot, I didn't aim, I was barely even looking at my target. I was victim to luck now. To my gratefulness, the device shattered in her and as she was about to sentence my fate.I had never felt so relieved in my life when the bombs didn't go off in reaction..

I smirked right at her. "My turn." One hand holding the gun, one hand holding the blade, I charged. One_ bullet down, six more before I need to reload._ I began to swing wildly, every time she tried to avoid my slashes, I'd shoot in the direction she dodged. Leaving her no space for comfort I feircely attacked her. She received a few cuts, deciding the blade was better than the bullet. She reached for another bomb, but I swiftly cut through her pack in which she carried them. The few she had left scattered to the ground. She was completely defenseless now. _One bullet left._ I mercilessly shot her in the kneecap, or at least tried to, she moved her leg just quick enough for it to hid her leg instead, possibly insuring she may walk again someday.

She falls to the ground on her back., clutching her leg in pain, "Ah- aaagghhhhh!" She wailed. 'You, you." The bombing bitch stuttered.

I press my cold, unforgiving blade to her neck. "You lose." I swing my blade back.

"No!" Both members of the resistance shout. I had nearly forgotten the Mysterious man was watching.

I firmly plant my blade into her hair and bandana that had sprawled on the ground as she had fallen. "Alright, I beat your test and sparred an assumingly innocent life in the process." I look down at the girl who definitely thought she had messed with the wrong kid, judging from the look in her eyes that said "I'm dead" "You should really give people a choice to take that test before you _attempt to kill them_" I sneered.

"P-point taken." She agreed breathlessly.

"Alright I won, now what information can I have?"

The man standing aside chuckled. "Good show, good show." He said lightly. "First I think you'd like to see who else passed the test." He gestured to an abundance of trees that made for good cover. As a set of figures appeared out of the forest.

My eyes widen in shock.

"No Way."

Awaken

(A.N.) Well, so much for answers. :) Guess every one has to wait for the next update. Wow, this book is almost half done. I can't believe it. A thanks to the reviewers. Remember to review. See ya next time.


	5. Chapter 5 A New Beginning

Awaken: Book of Beginnings:

Chapter 5: A New Beginning

(A.N.) Sorry for the late update, I'll have to give you a double update one of these days. Untill then, enjoy.

_Beware, for not all is what it seems to be._

On his orders, we hid. And while we were covered by the lush forest, we watched as a boy confronted the test. And I couldn't help but wonder, could he make it? Back when I myself took the same test, I barely passed, with my life.

_He- he's being slaughtered out there… This might get ugly…_ He was dodging for his life, only to meet more bombs. _Oh God, he's going to di- WAIT!_ Suddenly the tables turned, he began to retaliate, slashing, causing our teammate to fall back. When she looked to counter attack, he cut her off from her weapons, literally. However, she continued to refrain from meeting with the sword, aggravating the boy to end it appeared. He must have decided he'd had enough, because he pulled a gun on her! Now she was in deep shit. If she dodged, he shot, leaving her to choose between sword and bullet. She wisely was choosing sword.

However, instead of taking the time to reload, the boy used that last bullet to immobilize her. He was clearly aiming for her kneecap, luckily, our agent was swift enough to avoid the permanent injury, and substituted it with one easier to heal. _Thank God, I thought she was done for, I don't think anyone's died on a recruiting mission before. Then again, the agency is still young. It looks like another recruit is coming on board!_ But suddenly, he raised his sword, and was about to stab down! He was going to kill her! I was about to jolt out when my fellow members held me down. _Shit that's right, I can't risk blowing our cover. I'm sorry, Carol._ He ended it. Both figures yelled in protest as he did. _Oh Goddamnit, Carol, Carol I'm sorry. I barely knew her._ I perked my ears, no way, I could hear her voice.

"P-point taken" She had said breathlessly.

_She's alive! I knew he wouldn't do it. _Our boss gave the signal. _Well, time to reveal ourselves. _And we emerged into the clearing…

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX

"No way" I said, disbelieving.

"Yeah, surprised much?"

"You should have seen this coming."

"Guys you're alive! Devante! Robert!" I yelled out. _I- I'm not alone._ I noticed a big smile on my face. This as the best news I'd gotten in days. _Maybe, just maybe, Ally and Dexter are alive too, somewhere out there._

"Oh come on, you thought they could kill us?" Gloated Devante.

"They couldn't even find us." Stated the shorter boy. "Oh, and you're late… Again."

"Yeah we both came like half an hour ago and met up Mr. Tall Dark and Mysterious over here." Devante said. "And then these guys attacked us." He pointed out behind him, where more darkly clothed characters were. Bothe male, one was hooded in a cloak hiding all of his features other than his mouth, the other, was wearing what looked like some sort of uniform, and was holing a whip.

"I took on the guy in the hood, and Devante had the whipping maniac."

"Watch what you say you little ba-" The guy with the whip began.

"Hey! Be nice Mikey, they're just k-kids." Said the girl I had shot.

"Anyone who can shoot a woman without mercy or remorse is anything but a child Carol!" He retorted.

"I-I'm fine." She muttered. "He spared my life, I was reckless and underestimated my opponent, and many a soldier have died for less than that."

"Anyway, the hooded man had asked us a few questions, he mentioned a chance to redeem the lives of our village. I said I was in." Robert continued. "Devante said the same. So they had to test us"

"And man did they show no mercy!" Devante piped in, "That guy began whipping at me, and I swear I had a flashback to my ancestors when they were slaves! After that little memory I was pissed, and I torched his ass." The African boy snickered.

"He's not kidding, he literally set Mikes ass aflame." Robert began to giggle. "If I wasn't fighting for my life against a guy throwing poisonous senbons at me, I would have been rolling in the dirt laughing."

"In the end, we both came out on top." Devante finished off they're tale. "And it looks like you did too."

"Of course, don't I always?" I show my signature smirk and throw a thumbs up.

"Once, I saw a man stick his thumb up in the last war, while he was gloating. Someone came up and cut it right off." The man with the whip sneered. I immediately dropped the thumb.

The hooded man was next to speak, "Anyway, name's Grogan, Awakens poison specialist" he said emotionlessly.

"And I'm Mike, I train new recruits, in this case, I'll be training you three." He said as he cracked his whip menacingly.

"Wait, what's Awaken?" I said, Grogan had said he was 'Awakens poison specialist'.

"We are Awaken, that's the name of our group." Said the dark figure, "and I am its leader, call me Michael." He stated.

"Alright so that leaves, you." I turned to the girl I had shot. She was bleeding on the ground.

"I'm C-Carol." She said, she looked pretty bad. "Explosive specialist."

"Hey runt, just so you know, you shot my girl, so we're already on a bad start." Mike had said. He was obviously furious, grinding his teeth at the sight of his girlfriend's pain.

"Yeah Michael, she looks pretty bad, we need to get her to some aid." Devante said.

"Alright, so you're sure there is no one else alive in this ghost town." The dark leader asked.

"Absolutely, Devante and I scanned every building, every safe point, and secret hiding area. This place has gone to hell along with most of its inhabitants." Robert growled angrily.

Michael looked down, he was obviously disappointed. "Alright, team, this is a failed mission, we encountered some adequate recruits, but that won't make up for the lost lives, next time, we need to respond quicker if we are to protect this world from Dictations grasp, am I clear?"

"Sir, yes, sir!" The three members shouted out.

So they began to walk off, toward the northern area of the forest. There was nothing there for miles. I walked over to my friends.

"So, this is it huh?" I ask. "Our families, friends, they're all gone." I state grimly.

"Pretty much" Devante gritted.

"Well, we've got each other right?" Robert tried to lighten the mood.

"Yeah guys," I sling an arm around my two remaining friends "We'll always have each other to count on."

I silently say goodbye to everything I once knew, and opened my heart to a new beginning.

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX

We soon had come up to a campsite. Now that we were away from the village, the forest was again uncharred, and the air was clear. It was a relief, after three days I could breathe again. I had gone back to my stash of guns in woods, picked up as many of them up as I could carry. I delivered the rest to Devante. SO I kept a sniper rifle, my pistol, and a rapid fire rifle. Leaving Devante with a revolver and a pistol of his own. Afterwards, I had hidden in trees, close to Devante's hideout in the woods. We watched as our neighbors were captured and publicly slaughtered, it took all my self control to not puke at the gory sights before me. I considered shooting a few with my sniper, but it was just too risky right now.

Devante and I found some bushes a couple of yards outside of our hiding places that bore fruit. We survived off of them and they're juices. It wasn't much but we got by. To be serous we were both scared out of our minds, we were deep into something much bigger than us. Government peacekeepers were slaughtering our home! Never have I heard of peacekeepers going around killing without reason. This was horrible madness. From my lookout point in the tree I could see the entire town; Tyson's house had burned down. He was probably in his shack out back.

And after the three days were over, they left, I could have sworn I saw two stay behind as I descended. It was probably just a hallucination, from only eating fruit and berry juice, I was dehydrated. Lucky ass Tyson probably had bottles of water in that happy ass shack of his.

Devante and I ran for the clearing. When we arrived, there was no sign of Tyson; he was probably sleeping in, again. That lazy bastard never stops amazing me. Even in tragedy he manages to be behind on the uptake. Damn him, I can't believe he's self appointed leader of the group. But if it was Devante in charge, we'd be a gang going around kicking other kids' asses and claiming turf so he can be powerful. What a colorful cast of characters I hang out with.

A mysterious figure appeared, he wore a hood, asked us what we were like, what our views of redemption were like. Devante and answered honestly, we were just passing time until Tyson got here. But one thing led to another, and before we knew it we were in combat to earn our rank in an opposition to the new apparently crazy ass government.

We could have sworn it would be a piece of cake between us. Two against one. But some crazy bastard with a whip jumped out from the trees and began attacking Devante. This was crazy! I was glad I had plenty of guns on me. I was shooting with my rapid fire, but this guy was fast. Devante on the other hand, had gained full control of the situation and had set the guy, dressed in what looked like a black military uniform, on fire, in an uncomfortable place. He pulled out the pistol I had given him, And began shooting flaming bullets. Where did this control come from? Before he was barely able to start a campfire, and now he seemed to be in full control of his power.

I Decided the guy with the whip was insane when he began jumping around and whipping at the bullets, which miraculously worked, and deflected the burning projectiles. But in the end, Devante had shot the whip out of his hand, and the psychopath surrendered. The man in the hood went to the offensive, and threw poisonous needles at me; I believe they're called senbons. So I pulled the pistol and shot point blank at the needles. This was a test, so I showed my skill and hit the near impossible targets, point blank.

On of the needles reflected at the bullet and turned on its thrower, he too fat for a bullet, but not fast enough for a bullet and his own weapon heading for k=him at the same time. The senbons hit his leg, and he collapsed. He was still fully conscious, so his leg must have gone completely numb.

"Good show kid. You two pass." The man in the black hood said emotionlessly. "In my pack, there's a needle, please go get it." I did so. "Now stick into my leg and insert the anti toxin." I again followed orders.

The man in the hood rose from the ground. "Kid, thank you, but never ever trust an opponent, for all you knew, that could have been a trap, watch yourself." He stated sternly.

They introduced themselves as Grogan, and Mike. Then we met Michael, a dark man who was, eerie, to say the least. He introduced himself as the leader of Awaken, and a girl tailed him, who said she was Carol, Mike's girlfriend. I couldn't understand why a girl as beautiful as her, with her shapely body and flowing black locks, would get together with the gangly psychopath that was Mike. Michael ordered us to search out survivors, he seemed like he was on a schedule. We set off, hoping to find Tyson.

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX

We went about looking the ruble and destruction, Robert found some weapons, but we couldn't find anyone, not even Tyson, I began to have a sinking feeling. When we returned Gorgon grabbed us both and had us hide in some underbrush, we soon saw why. Tyson was alive! And he was going through his own test. He was ruthless, something changed in him, and he wasn't the kind boy I had befriended when I moved in. No, this was a vengeful, dark, interpretation of him. He proved his cruelty when he shot Carol in the leg, though it seemed he was aiming for the knee. When it looked like he was going to kill her, he spared her life.

Alright, so maybe, he was still himself deep down. But he was still wasn't the same. Michael gave us the signal, and we reunited with our pal.

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX

And so here we were. The camp. A blond, beautiful woman came out; she seemed to be the complete opposite of Michael. She was the only one of the group that didn't dress in black; instead, she wore a white tanktop, and gray pants. She had a glow to her, she was an-

"Angel, we picked up some recruits." Michael said. He walked up to her and planted a kiss on her lips.

_Wow, now my life has turned upside down. The man who had a dark aura to him had girlfriend who glowed with light. Then again, maybe they complete each other, maybe it's like yin and yang._

"Oh my god! Carol!" She gasped, she immediately ran to her aid. Mike laid her down on a mat, and Angel produced a pink sphere of energy around her hand. When it came in contact with Carol's injury, it healed her.

"Yeah, the crazy bastard with the spiky hair shot her." Mike glared at me.

"Mikey, lighten up, I told you it was my fault, I should have backed down." Carol came to my defense. She was reckless, but she had a good heart, I buried my grudge with her right then and there.

"So, this is all the survivors left of the village?" Angel asked.

"Yeah Dalthesan is gone," I say sadly. "By the way, my name's Tyson, or can just call me 'the crazy bastard with spiky hair' that's perfectly fine too." I smile, trying to lighten the mood.

"Smartass" Mike muttered.

"And I'm Devante" The obese boy introduced himself.

"Robert" The short Irish boy stated.

We spent the next few hours picking up their campsite and covering our tracks, whilst getting to know each other. When all was done, Michael called in for transportation.

"Exactly, how big is your group?" I asked.

"You three will be the 28th, 29th, and 30th members, if Mike doesn't break you. You have to go through the boot camp at base before you can be official members." Grogan clarified.

"Well guys, are you ready?" I ask. They both nod in comply. We watch as a hovermech descends on us. _Technology is genius, _I say to myself. Today's vehicles were my favorite subjects in school. A hovermech was a transportation device that could carry up to 10 people, plus a pilot and co-pilot. It used aero propulsion to stay aloft, through a ring over the top of its oval like body that threw down a massive amount of wind. It was an innovation that replaced helicopters years ago.

We step in, not knowing what lies ahead of us. This is the next step of our lives. And as we strap ourselves in and the hovermech begins its ascension, I know, one day, Awaken **will** bring an end to Dictation. Even if it costs me my own life, I will ensure this. _But only after Government troop 0350 comes to a premature end._

Awaken

(A.N.) Hope you enjoyed, Untill next time, enjoy your Suberbowl Sunday! Go Green Bay!


	6. Chapter 6 Beginning a New Life

Awaken: Book of Beginnings

Chapter 6: Beginning a New Life

(A.N.) Alright everybody, welcome to chapter 6, fair warning, theres going to be plenty of dialog and build for the next chapter, yes, it's one of those unactiony chapters that make waiting readers blood boil. Appologies. Remember read abd review.

_"Starting over isn't that scary, if you see it as only a new beginning."_

We arrived at what looked like a barren wasteland that someone built an obstacle course onto. "Uh, wow, this is your base of operations?" Devante said skeptically. I immediately punch him in the arm. My not-so-silent way of telling him to show respect.

"Oh no." Mike smirked. "We would never show you our base without you proving your worth. This is going to be your home for the next year. If you survive that long, without dying, then you're officially ready to join."

"Hold on, we risk our lives taking on your test of combat, and now you're telling me that we need to go through a year of boot camp to get in?" Robert shouts.

"No, I'm telling you that you probably won't get in, you're going to be three out of 100 recruits, all with different reasons to join. And out of the thousands that have entered, only 23 have had what it takes to pass." He cackled

_Just fucking great you son of a bitch. Now not only are you training us, but we have to compete with 97 other people for a handful of spots._ I grit my teeth.

"Don't worry, time will go fast, unless you focus on the agonizing pain you'll be receiving from intense workout regiments and constant exorcizes. Your lungs will burn, your arms will give out, and by the time I'm done with you, you'll be one of three things: a quitter, ripped, or dead." Mike stated menacingly.

_Fucking psychopath. I can't believe this guy is seriously going to attempt to work us to death, for what? For ammo, backup, equipment, names, locations, and cash. I think I can deal with a year worth of hell for that._

"Alright kids, we're coming in for a landing." Michael told us from the back of the hovermech. You'll be staying here until you quit or pass. I'll be coming in once a month to evaluate your progress and teach you some more powerful techniques."

Carol came over to us, over the past 2 and a half hours that we've been flying, her ability to walk has slowly come back to her, thanks to Angels unheard of ability to heal at a touch. She had forgiven me, but her boyfriend sure as hell hasn't. "And don't worry, I run the boot camp too, so I'll keep Mike from squashing you like the bugs he sees you as."

"Well that's a lovely thought." Devante said.

"Isn't it though?" Mike smirked gleefully.

"Ok, that guy officially scares me" Robert whispers in my ear, I nod in agreement. We touch down without a hitch, the hovermech's ramp deploys we descend to our new home, temporarily.

The scenery was anything but pleasant, the ground was lifeless, no a hint of green for miles, the training complex was pure concrete, and the sky was even grey. _Funny, this is exactly how I pictured prison as. _"It's beautiful here" I say, sarcasm seeping with every word.

"I know right? Welcome to paradise shitheads" Mike said, a little too happily for me to not be concerned for sanity. We entered through glass doors to find that the inside of the complex wasn't much different than the outside, predominantly grey, a wooden desk at what appeared to be a check in area. "Alright, I'll have to find where to bunk you three, Carol will give you a tour, show her respect or I show you the obstacle course."

_I swear to god, if you pull that stick out of your ass, I will, and then I'm going to beat you with it you smug arrogant basta-_

"Tyson! Come on, man! We're leaving without you!" Robert shouted while walking away along with Carol and Devante.

"Right." I nodded.

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX

Carol had given us the tour, shown us the weight room, the cafeteria, the rest area, and the door to their private quarters (which we were under no circumstances to ever enter if we value our having our reproductive organs attached to our crotches.) And finally, the obstacle course.

"Good god the heat is intense out here, what state are we in?" Devante asked, wiping sweat from his brow.

"Death Valley Arizona" Carol responded. "It's an ideal location to wear down the weaklings."

"You two have some issues." Robert muttered under his breath.

"What was that?" Carol snarled.

"I said do you have some tissues?" Robert backed down. Just like he always did. Hopefully this place could make him a man.

We came to the entrance of the obstacle course, where about 20 or so men and about 5 women were vigorously trying to flawlessly move through it. The course consisted of about a hundred yard dash from the beginning, then a rock wall about 20 feet tall need to be climbed, afterwards, you need to climb underneath barbed wire for a good 15 feet, then you had cross a platform that stood over a pool, every 5 seconds, a random panel of the 10 by 30 panel platform opened and dropped whomever stood on the unlucky square into the murky water, the course continued into a series of narrow rocks one had to jump onto and keep their balance or fall into a mud hole, and cross about 5 or so rocks, each growing smaller as they go, then cross a beam that had three bladed gondolas swing about, before finally climb to the top of a tower, then zip line downward, and drop a good 15 feet onto a target and stick the landing. How delightful, then it seemed that the winners would climb another 10 feet onto another platform, where it appeared that they would fight like gladiators, those who fell off went back to the start of the obstacle course. It works like a well oiled machine. A machine of people who mindlessly work themselves out to please a creep and his anxious girlfriend. It appeared that these individuals had been broken, and would loyally serve the cause to death. _Well mike, you won't break me, in fact, I just might break you._

"Now this is something mike and I built ourselves, we believe it to be our greatest accomplishment, it works like a charm." She smiled. I liked her better, she could be hardass like Mike, but she had control, unlike Mike who seemed mentally unstable. I wouldn't be giving her much trouble.

Mike had walked up to us soon after Carol had spaced out into thought, most likely reminiscing about the past. "Indeed it does babe." Mike said calmly. Funny, now that he forgets that I'm here, he reclaims his sanity.

"So, did you find a place for them?" Carol asks, as she lays her arm around Mike's neck while he held her at the waist.

"Who? Oh, yeah, the _runts._" _And sanity gone. _"Yes I found a place for them, they'll be in my sector, and in turn you can have a pick of two of my trainees."

"As much as we love to be left out, would you please explain to us what you're talking about?" Devante asked, pressing his sarcasm upon a man determined to make our lives hell.

"In this establishment, there are two groups, Grey and Green, those in Grey, I train, while Carol trains those in Green. We allow trainees the opportunity o rise in rank and become more eligible for the final test, so they are more likely to move on to Awaken. To rise in rank, you perform challenges, and participate in competitions. Challenges and competitions vary, and you may also rise in rank by volunteering to work the kitchen, or janitorial duties." Mike explained, unusually calm. It seemed that being in familiar territory eased his mind.

"In response to your offer, I'll take Chad and Rose." Carol chirped. Judging by Mikes wince, he rather disliked loosing those two in exchange for us.

"Very well, I'll make it worth it." Mike stated in a way that worried us all.

"S-so when shall we begin training?" Robert asked nervously.

"Well, believe it or not, we aren't cruel, in light that you have all just lost your families and homes, you have a one month rest period. In which you may still volunteer to have a boost start when your training begins." Mike said with a small smile, it was rather soothing compared to the broken smirk he wore when taunting me. "Follow me, I'll show you to your beds, clothes will be provided for you, and personal chests for your weapons, we'll provide ammunition for your guns, and tools to sharpen your blades." Mike then gestured to Devante. "And a room for you practice that abomination you call elemental control."

"Don't be mad that I set your ass on fire." Devante said cheerfully. "The burns will heal." He snickered. Mike began shaking with anger, but used his self control around Carol.

"Zip it and follow me." Mike said frustrated.

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX

We were given beds of stone; literally, it was a flat rock with a sheet and a pillow. "To motivate you to rise in ranks. The higher the rank, the larger and more comfortable the bed."Mike said, smirking through his words. _Nice system. _Mike then turned to the two packing their things. Apparently they were Chad and Rose. They both had very nice beds, so they must have been in high rankings; there were few beds that looked as if they may have been better. Their beds were thick, queen size, and had comforters. Chad looked to be about 19, he had brown hair in a military style cut, which he had spiked to put his own personal spin on it. He was buff, about 6'4, and some sort of a wire as a weapon, weird.

Rose on the other hand, had long flowing black hair, which she pulled to a ponytail, she looked about 16, had nice curves, and looked to be 5'8, and she had daggers for her weapon of choice. They both walked up to Mike. "Here you go, Sergeant Mike." Chad spoke quietly as he kneeled, handing over his grey uniform. Rose did the same.

With a tear in his eye, Mike said "I'm sorry, I swear it wasn't my decision." Mike took the uniforms sadly.

"I understand, but really? Those three are our replacements?" Rose growled harshly as she identified us.

"Well, make me proud, tear over those worms in the Green camp, and show them how we pull through in Grey territory. And I'll make sure you don't start from rock bottom." Mike said with a salute.

'T-that was so touching." Devante said, pretending to wipe away a tear. A dagger flew through the air, connecting with the African boy's sleeve, efficiently tacking him to the concrete wall.

"Accept that as a welcome gift from yours truly, tubby." Rose taunted, and with a sway in her hips, walked away with Chad, two lackeys from the Green sector following with their chests in hand.

"Tyson?" Devante asked.

"Yeah 'tubby'?" I respond

"One: shut up. Two: I think I'm going to like it here." He said with a goofy smile.

Mike walked out the room with a huff. He looked back with an expression that read 'I'll break you, scum'. "You know what," I say. "So am I." I stare back, sending my message loud and clear. _We'll see who breaks who, psycho._

And so, our new begging was upon us, and we were going to be damned if we didn't make our impression on this camp. Immediately.

Awaken

(A.N.) Well, thanks for reading, remember to review, and stay tuned for chapter 7.


	7. Chapter 7 Making a Memoriable Beginning

Awaken: Book of Beginnings

Chapter 7: Making a Memorable Beginning

_"Make a name for yourself, and let everyone know that you are here, and you're not afraid to stand up."_

Waking up, I realize that my life is forever different, four excruciating days earlier, I was a normal boy, now, I'm a trainee, driven to join a group who wishes to overthrow the government. Life is damned unpredictable.

"Robert, wake up." Devante shakes me awake. "Tyson says we aren't taking any break. We're showing these guys we mean business _now._" I get up, rather unwillingly. Devante throws me the uniform that was apparently issued to me. It was grey, as was our team color, It consisted of a tanktop, and combat pants, loaded with pockets, it also had straps that could be attached to the tanktop, that crossed the chest and held ammo patches. _My kind of uniform. _Then I remember that we're in a desert, and it's going to be cold as hell if we're going outside. I attach the straps and scrounge through the chest where Devante had found my uniform, there I found a sweat shirt, grey as expected, with my first name printed across the back, as if some sort of sport outfit.. As I dress, I notice something. _Tyson's not here._ As I continued to scan the room for him I notice something else. It's almost pitched black and everyone is asleep!

"One, where is Tyson, and where does he get the balls to wake us up at…" I check my Com-Link for the time, 3:36 A.M. A Com-Link was communication device that displays a visual of from one to three people to talk to, it also works as a watch, GPS, and thermometer. Certain Government Issue Com-Links could also measure radiation and pollution levels. Due to Advanced technology, they were extremely adaptive and could be updated to do a multitude of things, for a price. They were primarily worn on ones wrist. _Now that I think about it, why didn't we use this to find Tyson when we thought he was dead? Oh yeah, the Com-Tower burned in the fire, rendering all communication devices useless within a 5 mile radius, so until the next village over. _Com-Link devices were relatively new, about 5 years in the making. Rumor was that soon Com-Links would go global, and Com-Towers would be unneeded. A year too late I guess. Where was I? Oh Yeah, that rat bastard who thinks that 3:30 in the morning was time for a wake-up call.

"Where is Tyson, and why the fuck do we need to wake up at three in the damn morning?" I demand, a bit grumpy from lack of sleep.

"He's out in the hall waiting for us." Devante sternly said, not feeling good about the wake-up call either. "And I swear to god, if this isn't going to be good, I'm going to strangle him."

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX

Devante and Robert came from the boarding room and looked at me, a mixture of expectant and pissed. All right guy's, as you've seen from our warm welcome, we're targets here, which means we train now, and we train to our limits, so we can at least be on par with some of these muscle heads at the end of our 'rest period'." Their scowls deepened at hearing this. "Trust me, we make names for ourselves, or we get eaten alive here, are you with me?" I stick my hand palm down straight out to them, a way a team would in a huddle to signify the end of a talk and show teamwork and companionship to one another.

"Fuck you." Devante says sternly, right before placing his hand on top of mine. We both look at Robert.

"Fine, whatever." Robert joins his hand with ours.

"Good, one day, when we're at the top of this camp, you'll both thank me." I say.

"One, two, break!" We all say simultaneously.

We walked towards the obstacle course, _If we can conquer this behemoth, then the rest of their training regiments will be a piece of cake._ "Damn, doors rigged with an electric alarm, Tyson." Robert observes.

"Give me a second." I begin to scan the area. I look closer to the alarm system, upon opening the box, where the number pad was, I notice a small yellow slit somewhat hidden behind the pound key. I carefully remove it, and open the yellow paper. It read: 6031683*. "Got it." I enter the code, once I hit the pound key, a green light flashed before a small beep emitted from the system, signifying its unlocking.

"Way to go, now, let's figure out how to figure this bitch out." Devante said. We walked outside, where the expected sting of cold hit us. I scanned the landscape for a control station. Saw a ladder that led to the roof of the complex.

"Alright, I'll go check out what's up there." I say as begin to ascend the latter. Once atop the complex, I see a small station, I entered and saw the panel that worked the machine, once I turned it on, it demanded a password. _Fuck. _ Trusting my instincts, I enter Carol. It accepts the code. _Thank you God._ It then gave me a multitude of options; I activated all the mechanisms, and turned all the lights. Once the mechanisms were sufficiently heated, it asked for a difficulty level, I enter 1.

Through the Com-Link I managed to salvage from the catastrophe that hit our village, I tell my comrades "Mission Complete."

"Good, now come down here and let's start already." Robert responds

"Confirmed" I reply. I was about to descend when I notice some stopwatches lying on a nearby table. I grab them and return to the ground. I distribute the watches to Robert and Devante. "Ready boys?" I ask. We had all lined up at the start position, ready to race. They nod in comply. "Then let's go!" I shout, and we all take off.

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_3 hours later_

First sunlight was just beginning to show itself on the horizon we were tired to the bone, and each of us had had difficulty with a certain part of the obstacle course. Over time we had been able to raise the difficulty level, we were now on 4. For Robert, the most difficult part of it was the zip line; he just couldn't hold on to it long enough, Devante seemed to be unlucky with the collapsing panels. And me, well, I had trouble with that damn rock wall. But for one night, we did pretty well. Our times had drastically improved from our first run, which for me, was roughly 10 minutes, now, even with the increased speed was 7 ½ minutes now. Our speeds were about the same, except Robert who was down to 6 minutes.

"A- all right guys," I panted "Robert, g-go turn it off" I finished with a heave.

"Can do" He replied before dashing to the latter. Short people and their boundless energy. Robert wasn't really all that short, but, ever since he was little, he was shorter than me, and with the way we grew, it seemed he never changed in height. He stood about at 5'2 so compared to my 6 foot stature, he was short.

I listened to the gears power down. I sigh and look to Devante, who had dropped to the ground in exhaustion. Robert hit the ground.

"Sweet can we go back to bed now?" He asked.

"Yeah" Devante seconded. I nod n=my head in comply with my goofy grin plastered to my face. Suddenly, our attentions were snapped towards the clapping from the entrance of the building, where Mike and Carol stood. _How did we not notice them? How long have they been there?_

"Impressive, I give you a break, so the first thing you do with your time is crack our security systems, with a faulty code that was placed there for a reason, which in turn sets off the alarm in our chambers." Mike smirks at our stupidity.

"We thought you were trying to escape." Carol added.

"And what's the first thing we see when we step outside to locate you?" Mike asks. "Three newbie's willingly going through the obstacle course at 4 in the morning. I'm impressed, your break stands, and your being up ranked. You're now rookies, congratulations."

"Being up ranked on your first day, that's a record kids. By the way, you just now officially put targets on all of your heads. Enjoy." Carol stated in a singsong voice. _She has a darker side as well. I guess they meet half way._

"We were already targets, as Mike knows from the warm welcome his former pupil gave me." Devante said holding the dagger he had apparently decided to keep, which just a few hours ago, Rose had expertly chucked at him.

"Well, then I guess you're making a smart move, taking the course while everyone else is sleeping, which by the way…" Mike began to grit his teeth. "They shouldn't be, I can see the sunlight." _They might have done the same thing we did, if it wasn't for that sleeping schedule of theirs, up at sunrise._

Mike and Carol made their leave, to wake up their troops. While the three of us give each other thumbs up in a job well done, as we make our way back to our beds.

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The rest of our break flowed flawlessly, we were at the obstacle course nightly, we slept through breakfast, and woke up to head to the gym in the complex, and then we went to our weapon training courses. While Devante and Robert only focused on their elemental skills and sharpshooting respectively, I split my time, I would spend half my time on my swordsmanship, then either join Robert or Devante in his elemental control training, I switched to the other friend every other day, to keep myself well rounded. While training with Devante, I discovered a power of my own, my roundness before had prevented me from learning an elemental skill. Elemental skills required one to push in a direction that would form emotion, which in turn would branch off into a power. The only other way to obtain an elemental skill was through intense mental and physical training. This is how Devante gained his ability over lightning, which he was helping me achieve myself. Now that rounded personality was shattered in the death of my family, which had caused me to turn harsh, and cold. Thus, my ability to control Ice was born, Devante had much better at controlling his elements, but that comes with experience. To control an element, or achieve one, you must understand it in its entirety, and find its connection to yourself. I believe that Devante could learn them all.

One of us would volunteer to operate the obstacle course, and the other two would work in the kitchen, though only for lunch and dinner, because we were _out_ in the mornings. We had rose in the ranks drastically, and our official training hadn't even started yet, we had gone from _Maggots, _to _Rookies, _to _Students, _and were now _Apprentices',_ this was mostly because we were now some of the best on the obstacle course, we could now go on level 9 and still get a time of 7 minutes, and at this point, the collapsing panels were disappearing constantly, and the narrow stones now moved, as if they weren't difficult enough, and to my sever disapproval, the rocks on the rock wall now moved downwards, making a 'up on a down escalator' effect, whatever the fuck an escalator was.

We were well known in the complex now, and the green team was itching to get their hands on us on our first challenge, which fortunately for them, was scheduled for the day our break expired, tomorrow.

"Do you guys thank me yet?" I ask.

"For waking me up at three thirty in the morning to exorcize for the past month?" Robert asked in turn.

"Hell no." Devante piped in.

"I'm with him." Robert replied.

"All right, I'm just telling you, one day, you're going to thank me." I tell them.

"Yeah, yeah, get some sleep; we have to get up a sunrise." Devante says

"Beats 3:30 in the morning." Robert replies harshly.

"Fuck you man." I state friendlily. Tomorrow, those bastards in green learn what we're made of. God I hope I get to beat some respect into some of those cocky assholes. Cause bet your sweet ass I will.

Awaken


	8. Chapter 8 Beginning of Realization

(A.N.) Wooo! Longest chapter yet! Standing at 4,071 words, Chapter 8 Thats over 1000 words more than my previous longest, Chapter 5! And so far, my favorite, doesn't come close to the finally of the series, but is deffinately up there. Gore warning. Remember to review! Can you predict the ending?

Awaken: Book of Beginnings

Chapter 8: Beginning Conditioning

I awake at sunrise, not by alarm, but by our comrades rushing so they may eat before the days training. I look over to Robert, who was already dressed and ready to go, then to Devante, out cold.

"Wake his ass up, I'm ready so I'll go eat." Robert stated before dashing after the crowd who was headed for breakfast.

"Devante, Devante… _Deeeevaaaanteeeee? _I try to coax the fat bastard out of his slumber. "**Devante!**" Still nothing. I'm getting pissed now. I haven't slept well in anticipation of our challenge "**Devante! Up and off your LAZY, FAT, SON OF A BITCH**" I yell.

"You're calling my Momma a what?" He jolts awake.

"Get ready, it's breakfast time, and then our first official day in camp begins.

"Then what are we doing here?" He asks.

"That's the spir-" I begin.

"It's breakfast time!" He threw on his uniform and was out the door before I could finish my sentence.

"-it." _That bastard!_ I throw on the rest of my uniform; attach my sword sheath to my back, holster my gun, and dash off.

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"Alright maggots, as you know, a certain three trainees are beginning their time here today, and in turn for their skyrocket of promotions, their first challenge is today. You three-" Mike pointed at us. "meet me at front desk after the days training."

"Sir, yes, sir!" We shouted simultaneously.

The training was as brutal as previously described. In the desert, we did stretches in 102 degree weather, then moved to different exorcizes, curls, pushups, jumping jacks, and terrible up-downs. For those unfamiliar with the excruciating move, you jog in place, then when your spotter shouts 'Down!' you drop flat on your stomach and push yourself to your feet in one swift move, then continue jogging and repeat, over, and over, and over again. Gruesome. After three, unforgettable, strenuous, muscle ripping, horror, we were free to go about individual training. Devante and I had already lost a combined weight of 100 pounds in our last month here; it seemed no one would leave this place without a 6 pack.

After some weight lifting, swordsmanship, and sniping practice with Robert, we ate lunch.

"Man, is it going to be like that every day?" Devante asks, "He wasn't kidding when he said our arms would give out." He remembered when mike had kept pushing him to his limits in pushups. Every time he started to get a rhythm, Mike added more weight to his back.

"I guess so." I reply, trying to erase the term Up down from my memory.

"You guys ready for our challenge?" Robert asks. "I wonder what it's going to be?"

"I know one way to find out." Devante says.

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX

"Devante, we all knew we could find out this way." I say irritably.

"Well, you didn't have any other ideas, now did you?" Devante replied. We walked right up to the front desk.

"Mike, we're ready for our challenge." Robert says.

"'Bout time runts." He returns. "Carol and I have been assigned a mission, we'll be back by sunrise, however, we need a group to guard the weapon vault. It's in the back most wing of the complex. It's guarded by a special type of lock; you are under no circumstances to enter the vault. No one's ever broken into the complex, but the Dictation gains power and intelligence by the day, so if the invade here, you three are to make sure that they do not access our armory. Understood?" Mike looked down at us skeptically.

"Sir, yes, sir!" We again reply simultaneously.

"Good, we leave in less than 4 hours, in that time; I wish for you to rest and prepare for your shift. We'll be waiting for you at the back wing at that time. Don't betray our trust in your capability." He said sternly.

"Right." I smirk. We walk off, to our beds so we may sleep before a night of watching a wall, in which most likely, nothing will happen.

"What a bore, I was hoping for some action!" Robert commented.

"Whatever, we do well, and we might get another up ranking." Devante said.

"Is it just me, or does this seem, too easy?" I ask. My comrades look at me. "We've been here for a month. And suddenly, we're a step away from being half way to the top, and now we're being asked to do a potentially dangerous task, doesn't it seem, I don't know, suspicious."

"You saying you don't trust Mike?" Devante asked.

"Do you?" I retort.

"Good point." Devante replies.

"Well, I guess we're going to find out huh?" Robert asks as we reach our room. _Like Robert said, we're going find out aren't we?_

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX

We report to mike after loading up on ammo. I used the pistol I received from Robert, way back when Dalthesan was invaded. _God, was that a month ago? It seems like that was years ago. I bet to Tyson, it was just yesterday. When he sleeps, he mumbles about the horrible event. He has to relive the tragedy every night. Sometimes, I think he blames himself._ I've recently picked up a habit of collecting weapons, like the dagger from rose. So far I have only three weapons, the pistol, the dagger, and I found some brass knuckles forgotten in the obstacle course. One dumbasses loss can be my treasure. All of that along with my elemental abilities. I'm ready to kick some ass, if need be.

We walked to the back wing in silence; we've all we need to say. Over the years, we've bonded like brothers. We like to think that we're closer to Tyson than his biological brother. True, I lost 3 brothers, along with my mom and sister in the invasion, but we were a train wreck of a family, I shed my tears for them, and I miss them, but I have a feeling that what lost when our world was shattered didn't hold a candle to Tyson. I mean, he told us he **saw** his father's carcass, that's hard to bare.

As we approached Mike, I remembered what Tyson said about how this felt, off. Now that I was thinking about it, the air was even different, like it was stale, the colors looked almost alien, and I knew that the paint was grey, but, it seemed that the grey warped or something, textures felt slightly off. Mike was up to something, we were all in agreement, however, we had no idea what it could be, we were getting the idea that the night wouldn't be as quiet as Robert initially assumed.

"Good, you're on time." Mike… Mike- smiled? The hell was going on, Carol wasn't in sight. "In return for taking the task, you can each take **one** weapon from the vault." He gestured toward the wall, the completely blank wall. Mike walked over to a stepstool, which he used to step up to an assortment of letters that were at the top of the wall. It spelled out NEW VAULT. In all capitalized silver letters. The font made the capital W round on the bottom, making a true double U instead of the more common double V uppercase. It looked retarded. Not the letters, the fact that above their vaults hiding place they titled it NEW VAULT. Every cat burglars dream.

Once atop the stepstool, he was tall enough to rearrange the letters. He flipped the V upside down, then took the bottom of the L off and placed it in the middle of the inversed V Creating an A, and placed the new letter at the beginning, and moved the N to the back of the sentence. And Moved the E right in front of the N. Then he took the U, and unfolded the metal U to form the W and placed it underneath the W which it locked into, and made the W as thick as the other letters. _I can't believe I failed to notice that! Tyson probably picked right up on it. _Moved the A over so it was next to the newfound W. And then he separated the T and attached it to the remainder of the L forming a K, he then pushed it all together to form one word. AWAKEN.

"That's what I call a lock." Tyson spoke up.

"Yeah, Carol is a genius with traps and puzzles." Mike replied happily, maybe he's just happy to get out of this God forsaken place.

The wall separated, revealing a library sized arsenal, and we all went out to pick our one weapon. I looked for something new among all the guns, and blades, and I saw something I'd never even thought about, a crossbow, so few of these primitive shooters were still around, I grabbed it and 20 arrows for it.

As we all regrouped, Tyson had chosen some sort of rapid fire gun; it looked similar to a M60. And Robert had chosen a some sort of a shot gun. Funny, we all chose projectile weapons. We have no intention of close combat tonight. Mike gives out an interested glare, had we been compromised in our suspicion?

"Very well, now enjoy your watchmen shift. We'll see you when we're back from our task at hand." Mike said before leaving us to spend the next 12+ hours watching a wall. From what I saw, the thing had cameras, along with that, it probably also had Laser trips. Tyson began to rearrange the letters so that they once again spelled NEW VAULT.

"No use leaving the damn thing open." He said as the walls collided and sealed away.

"Alright, I'm still pretty tired, so I'll sleep first, and I'll take over when one of you gets sleepy." Robert said, before lying down, and cupping his hands behind his head to make a more comfortable position.

"Right." I whisper.

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX

_Whispers, what are they saying? Thumping, what is that? To quiet to be my friends footsteps. (Click) _

My eyes jet open, I know that click anywhere, the safety of a gun being turned off. "Shit." I say, getting up

"Robert, hush" Tyson whispers. Holding his new automatic fire weapon, he doesn't even know what it is yet, from its body structure; it appeared to be an X-640. A relatively new weapon design, however, it was obviously modified for more accurate shooting, and a larger magazine. Damn. I load 10 shells, into my new shotgun. A blastfire, from I could take in, this was just released a year ago to the peacekeeping forces. Most powerful unmodified shotgun in the world, and like Tyson's and Devante's, it was modified for more power. Devante set up his crossbow, I'll never understand why he chose that ancient machinery, and then again, it could pierce a bulletproof vest, so he has that.

Two shadows appeared from the light at the end of the hallway. A putrid smell reeked across the area. _Shit, if this is an intrusion, then that would be a serious poison gas, from where it was released, it couldn't harm us too badly._ I see the red laser pointer click on, and I signal Tyson to fire.

"Bitch put the gun down or die!" Tyson yells as he unloads 20 rounds into the potential assailant. As he falls to the ground, the lights cut off, and we rely on our other senses to stay alive. We see the laser pointer through the darkness, along with the light emitted from the gun blasts. We hear several grunts as these opposing forces die out. Then I feel something tackling me to the ground, I'm defenseless, due to the fact I hadn't even gotten to reload. I assumed from the yells of surprise, my friends were in the same position.

"We got them! Hit the power!" An unfamiliar masculine voice calls out. As the lights kick back on, we see that we killed about 6 men, and were still surrounded by 3 more, along with whoever was in charge of the lighting on the other side of the wall. Panic sets in, as I see those oh so familiar blood red uniforms.

"Dictation scum." Tyson spits.

"You're the scum here rebel." Was the reply from one of our captors. "Now, if you want to live, you'll be giving us the code to open the armory."

We had no chance. We were outnumbered, cornered, and they had taken our primary weapons. I had only one option left.

"Fine you want the code?" I ask, looking at my angry comrades. "Then I'll give it to you." I stand up, without any show of challenge from the Dictation agents. I have my hand on the hidden gun holster where my pistol lies. "In **HELL!**"I yell as I made two shots before hearing that one last noise. _Talk about going out with a bang. At least, they'll be safe. _Was my last thought as everything went dark.

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX

"Robert!" Tyson and I yell simultaneously as our friend made his last stand and fell to the ground blood poured from his torso, and even more psprayed to the wall and onto us, as two more dictation soldiers fell with holes in their heads. _No! Goddamnit! Robert- he was one of the last survivors of Dalthesan. He was a brother to me. He- he's gone._ I curl my hand in a fist. the anger and hatred i felt now was unbareable. _They'll pay!_

"Anyone else want to play hero? Want to join your little buddy there?" The remaining man snarls as another figure begins to run through the corridor, this one seemed to be about our age.

"Alright team, the last two are d-" He begins as he sees our carnage. "Wha- what happened?" He stuttered, shaking in fear. He appeared new to Dictation.

"These punks happened. "B- But we made through the entire base without losing a single man! How could, how could these two-"

"Three." The other remaining soldier gestured to our friend.

"His name was Robert!" I yell in pure rage, fire bursting from my frame. "You bastards killed him, and you're tellin' me the entire compound is dead?" I ask.

"Shit." Tyson mutters as he tucks his head to his chin with tears running down his face.

"You have one last chance to tell us how to open this vault." He says.

"Sir, it- it's just a wall." The boy questioned.

"It's a cover for the real thing." He replied. "These rebel types always have incredible technology and tricks hidden away." He said.

Tyson and I stand at the same time. We look to each other, as if we were reading each other's minds. One word circulated between us. 'Vengeance'.

"What's it going to be?" He asks again, forcedly pointing his rifle at us.

My decision was made long before he asked. "Kiss-My-Ass" I say slowly. As soon as he raised his gun, Tyson and I both shot elements at him and his companion.

Tyson shot Ice low, and my fire went high. Our combination effectively stuck the younger one to the ground, forcing him to take the flames head on. Unfortunately, the more experienced agent dodged. The younger one screamed as his flesh burned. "Drop the rifle. Drop the damned rifle and surrender." I shout out.

"I- I can't do that, Leader would kill me." He looks to the ground.

"What makes you think we won't kill you both right now?" I say, electricity surging through my arm as point my arm in shooting position towards the kid, who was already permanently damaged from the flames. The Ice held solid, keeping him in place.

"Commander! Please! Just do it!" The boy screamed in agony.

"5" I count.

"I-" He stares on.

"4" The electricity becomes more rapid.

"Leader would…"

"3" The boy began to struggle violently

"2"

"I'm sorry." He states coldly.

"1" The lightning surges from my arm.

"**COMANDER!**" He shouts as lightning ends his misery.

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX

The room flashed as Devante put an end to another Dictation soldier. What used to be a boy was now a tattered smoldering carcass. The shock had shattered the ice, allowing the tortured body to fall. Then, Devante collapsed, blood pouring from his neck.

"Your death has been avenged." The remaining man said. With Robert's blood on one hand, and Devante's on my other, my rage hit a new high.

My eyes grow wide. _Devante! And Robert… They're both gone, my family is gone. My world is dead, and it's all their fault! _"You…" I say. Tears again freely falling from my face. " I'm going to make you wish you were never fucking born! You killed all I had left."

"Your friends killed almost a dozen of Dictation soldiers, including one of our youngest prospects, on his first mission!" He shouted back. "And now-" He raised his gun, "I'll end this!"

Just then, the fire erupted from my hands, engulfing the room in flames. As I screamed from the stress it took and the anger I needed to create the element. A firewall stood before me, and a man jumped through I and shot my ear right off. I scream in pain.

"Like I said. This is the end!" He yelled.

Realization hits me like a ton of bricks. _It all makes sense now. _I smile and laugh as I stand to face this man. He stares back, a worried look on his face partially for my sanity, partially for his pathetic life. "Your right." I say. The room begins to crack, allowing light to seep in. "It's over." The wall behind me had pieces falling from it, showing pure shining white behind it. The soldier bean to look about him as the environment warped and broke. "This dream…" I gesture around me, as the flames disappear, along with the bodies. "Has met its end!" I erupt. "_**Mike! This is your one warning!**_"I shout to the top of my lungs. "_**Stay, out, of, my, HEAD!**_" I finish as the entire background shatters. The dictation soldier in front of me fading away. Then, my own body began to disappear, and my sight faded.

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I awake in some kind of pod. I punch straight through the glass, cover, and force my way out of captivity. "Mike! You son of bitch! Show yourself! Are you scared of me?" I shout out.

"God Tyson no reason to shout." Devante replied checking his ears for blood. I run to him and give him a hug. "I saw what you did, and let me be the first to say 'you cheated'." He looked upset.

"You're just jealous you didn't go think of it, or even go down like a badass like I did." Robert taunted. I gave him a quick hug too.

"Geese kid." Carol came out, Mike tailing her. "I mean, we've had people survive, but no one's ever broke the system."

"How the hell did you do that?" Mike was dumbfounded.

"He realized he wasn't in reality." Another voice spoke up. There was Michael. "Told you I'd be here in a month to check on you." He walked past me and looked at a large contraption that was running. "Yep kid, you overrode the system." He observed.

"How did you realize you weren't, you know awake?" Mike questioned.

I smile at this, knowing he's embarrassed for being found out. "First of all, the air was too clear, I could detect that it was cleaner than normal. Second, my friends and I have scoured this entire building, and there is no wall that says NEW VAULT." I said matter-of-factly. "Those were the big ones, but were explainable, what isn't explainable, was how Robert could have been shot in the torso if he was wearing the bulletproof vest that is part of the uniform. Along with the fact that even though Devante was shooting a crossbow, there were no arrows in that hall. Not to mention, Devante was standing right in front of me when he was shot, so if he was shot through the neck, it would have hit me. You can't fuck with physics." I prepare to put the last stone in place. "And finally, how can I hear from my ear if it's been shot clean off? That doesn't make any sense at all. Update your tech, it's been outdated." I finish

"Smartass" Mike mutters. The look on his face was priceless.

"Well kids, the mission was to not give in and keep the vault safe to death. You didn't have to solve the mystery." Carol smiled. "But for that, you all can be up ranked again." Carol smiled. We were now Soldier rank. We smile to each other.

"Tyson, I saw you learn how to control fire, so you, and your friend Devante, come with me, I'll show you more effective ways than just spewing fire around." Robert smiled and turned around and continued to talk to mike and Carol.

We seemed to be cutting through the ranks, and this challenge, it was mind-blowing. I'll never forget the feeling of watching my friends die. Were we lucky it wasn't a real invasion. Next time we come face to face with Dictation, we give them no chance to kill our numbers, we strike first, and we don't let up.

"Tyson…" Michael brought me from my thoughts.

"Yes Michael?" I ask.

"There's not a doubt I have about you, in a year, you'll be beyond ready for awaken. So keep these friends of yours with you. You bring the best out of them; you show the qualities of a true leader. Don't lose that quality." He told me.

"I don't plan to." I informed him.

_So close, yet so far from Awaken._

Awaken

(A.N.) Well, hope you enjoyed. Did you really think I'd kill two of the main characters this early on? No, but a fair warning for the future... "There will be blood, it might be yours, so kill someone, signed bad horse." (For those of you who dont understand that joke, look up Dr. Horribles sing along blog. you wont be dissapointed.) Wait for te nex chapter as Grey meets Green in a challenge for supremecy, will the trio come out as underdogs hit the top? Or will they meet the hard hit of reality? Review!


	9. Chapter 9 Beginning to Earn Respect

Awaken: Book of Beginnings

Chapter 9: Beginning to Earn Respect

_(A.N.) _Well, It's been a month, 'the extra week was do to the fact that the great things that authors Chaos Gamer and Dremmereg devised, unfortunately didn't work for my computer. So heres a chapter, which was cut in half, because quite simply, it would have been 10,000+ words sounded a little over the edge, seeing that the last chapter was only 4,000. So now the chapter is 7,888 if you can guess what famous anime inspired this tournament style, post it in a review, if you are the first one correct, you get a reward! This offer does not expire untill the series is complete, or someone answers correctly.

_"Respect, is something you can't just get, you either earn it, or beat it out of others."_

The training from Michael was unbelievable, while Devante would mainly focus on just _getting_ the element to appear, he taught us how to control it, how turn a fireball into a whip, into a wave, into a dragon-like blast. He taught us the science of the element, if you don't understand it, you can't master it. Each element had 3 levels of power; levels were represented by a color change. Like fire, level 1 was your typical orange/red color, level two, was a much hotter, blue flame, and level 3 was a blistering white.

Or ice, its levels went from the bluish color I had been making, to a foggy white color that you see in the winter, to a deadly, clear, sharp tool of combat, almost invisible in the right conditions. But the odd thing was, all his elements weren't the color he taught us, each and every one, was a pitch black, with a brilliant dark purple pulse to it. There were some secrets to this mysterious leader of ours. Just like the Leader of Dictation. I had my suspicions to say the least. But his lessons didn't stop there; he made us in complete control of our emotions. We now had unbeatable poker faces, and were able to accurately channel distinct emotions to create elements, that day, I learned how to use lightning, I was just as good as Devante now, much to his frustration, he had spent his entire life learning these skills, and I was quickly catching up and outshining him. That's not all he taught us to control, along with emotions, he had us hone our senses, to listen to another conversation on the other side of a concrete wall, to distinct a poison in a drink, without having enough to effect you, to see a shadow move in the very farthest corner of your eye in pitch black, to smell the smoke before the fire was launched, and to feel the blade against your skin and react before it had a chance to pierce. This was the most difficult part of the training. We had become deadly accurate soldiers. This was the last time he ever personally trained us, afterwards, it was all group learning. Newbie's spend their first visit being personally trained, and then joining the group. It was quite a system, and we loved it. We'll never forget what he showed us on that day.

A year had passed from that day of the simulation. Those once killer workouts (which turned out to be just as real as the simulation had made them.) were now a breeze to our near chiseled bodies. With the exception of Devante, who kept enough body fat to use to his advantage, while still keeping that muscular look we were given. And we had made a miscalculation, it turned out that during our sleep, there was much more training involved. Over the course of the year, we were trained in all forms of weaponry, much to Devante's pleasure, and we even learned to pilot vehicles, such as the Soarer, a form of flying motorcycle, and the vehicle of choice for solo jobs in the agency, and the larger Burstdrive, a speed vehicle, though not as fast as the Soarer, capable of seating up to 4. We also learned how to build, arm, and detonate explosives, proper acrobatics that would serve us well I presumed, and many, many tech operations, if I wasn't enthusiastic about learning before, I was now, I learned philosophy in wielding my blade, in controlling my elements in my own style, and my hand to hand combat.

Another miscalculation we made, we knew very little about Awaken as a whole. We had assumed that it was a rebellion, and we'd be fighting the Dictation at every turn. What we discovered, was much deeper. We were training to be a group of mercenaries, guns for hire, doing anything from guarding a safe overnight, to assassinating heads of Dictation. We have to do jobs for funding, without it; we can't update our technology and counter Dictation jobs. We would have to multi capable super soldiers. We were in way over our heads, and we knew it, loved it even. It was hard coming to terms we would become murderers to men, maybe even women, that we had no affiliation with, that we would have no idea if they deserved it. We would kill, for money… I had almost quit right then. My promise of vengeance led me to acceptance. I knew it to be unavoidable, if I wanted my revenge, this was my only chance.

I had become incredibly logical; I could calculate the angle and the velocity of a projectile as it was being tossed. Devante had become a powerhouse, and a goddamn hoarder, his chest was filled to the brim of weapons of all shapes and sizes. And Robert became the sharpshooter we all knew he would. His aim was impeccable, he could shoot from one side of the complex, have the bullet move through every window in line, and hit an apple off of any given persons head, without leaving a scratching anything, (With the exception of the windows) blindfolded! The kid had instinct. Devante had left me in the dust in term of elements, He expanded his arsenal of elements and drastic increased their power, I vowed to back down and sick to my three, Ice, Fire, and Lightning. I let him keep the power to shift earth, and control air, and even control plant life! He had me beat hands down. Robert never learned an element, even though he had two very adept teachers right next to him. He believed in his own instincts, that bullets were better than anything out there. I myself had become the greatest swordsman on the Grey team. I couldn't speak for the Green team, but I bet there wasn't one of those bastards who could hold a candle to me. I'd love to prove it too. And there was rumor that there would be evaluations for membership in the organization coming up, and to help with the decisions, there would be a tournament style competition. Damn had we been waiting for this. Though, we hadn't always been on top, in the beginning, we had some older, more accomplished trainees give us some trouble, one day, we stared the mother of all brawls on the obstacle course, nearly got kicked out of the compound for the damages, Must have broken most of their bones in that brawl, and we were actually demoted! Oh the shame… Funny thing was that by the next month, we had been up ranked twice, placing us higher than before. The hardest part was becoming Elite rank, it must have taken a damned 3 months, and an ass chewing to Mike and Carol to get that spot, and that was the only rank we all achieved on separate occasions.

We quickly had learned our weapons were receiving chinks and scratches, and they were being outdated rapidly, for Christmas, surprisingly, every agent received a gift, usually a new weapon, my old broadsword was immediately retired when I saw that brand new, hand crafted, steel long sword. Besides, one more fight and that old thing was going to split in half. We also got gifts for our birthdays; I got a great rapid fire weapon, similar to the one from the simulation, only heavier, and chromed. It was called the SRX 550. Devante got a whip, (courtesy of Mike) which Devante immediately used to terrorize someone (Mike). Robert got a laser sight which could be attached to any of his guns, improving his accuracy further.

Devante received that crossbow he had chosen in the simulation. Robert got a new sniper rifle. We were now full up class 10, Elites; we had gone through all 10 up rankings. We were on top of the world and damn, we knew it, yeah we let it go to our heads, but we never forgot our roots, we protected the newbie's, and crushed anyone in their paths to success. We never let anything stop us going to the top. And now, here we were one final test away from our goal.

"Tyson," I hear Robert and Devante approach from behind, I was sitting in the boarding room, digging through my chest.

"We decided you were right, thanks for the head start, we might not have gotten this high up without you." Devante said, a little upset from the look of it, he hated to give me credit, always has, and always will. Wouldn't have it any other way, our rivalry pushed us to new heights of power and concentration that we would never had achieved without each other.

"Told ya." I smirked. I knew, I told them it would happen, and here we are.

"So, are you ready for our 'competition?" Robert asked.

"You know it." I replied smirking. "What about you guys?" I question them in turn.

My African friend speaks first, "I just want to show Chad and Rose that we're not pushovers anymore." He said with a fire in his eyes "And I believe I have a gift to return to her." He spoke tauntingly holding up the dagger he achieved from her on our first day here.

"I'm ready, but I'm gunning for Chad, cock blocking bastard." He muttered, remembering a day on the obstacle course, when Robert was enticing a newer recruit as he seamlessly moved through, and as he was about to finish on the zip line, Chad pushed him out of the way to finish first, and whisk the girl away, simply to antagonize Robert, he was dumping that girl within the hour.

*cough "Fail" cough* Devante taunted.

"Shut it asshole." The shorter boy growled.

"Guys, guys," I break them up, "Save it for tomorrow. You'll have plenty of time to taunt each other afterwards." I joke them off.

"H-how do you know it's tomorrow?" Robert asked. I pulled from my chest, a recording device, which I played over.

The machine cracked to life, and replayed a conversation I had intercepted with said device. "… So because we are anticipating action between next week onward throughout the month, we will arrive tomorrow and decide if anyone enters by the day after." Michael's voice said.

"Very well, we'll set up immediately." Carol replied. I cut the machine off there, because I had heard footsteps, and this was our secret. It was Rose.

"Rumor is that there will be a competition for the selection soon. If it turns out to be true," She shot out daggers with her eyes "Don't even bother trying, it's going to come down to both Chad and I at the final round, and then one of us will take the glory. _You _runts, just stay out, we don't care that you're the same rank as us, you haven't been here for half the time we've been here." She stared us down. "Allow me to dumb it down for tubby here." She turned to Devante, who growled at the dark haired vixen. "_**Stay, out, of, my, way.**_"

"What? And miss all the fun, after all, according to our books, there's a score to settle." The cocky African boy rather calmly retorted.

"We'll bury you dirt bags." She spoke informatively.

"Try," Robert shot back. "We dare you."

I smirk at how much more sure Robert was of himself, his confidence had immensely improved. "And you can pass this on to Chad," I glared down at her, "We're waiting, and if he's scared, he shouldn't even bother showing up."

"Learn your place!" She shouted in anger.

"Learn yours." Robert snapped.

"Who in this room was the last to become Elite? Why don't you remind us Rose?" Devante taunted.

"Bastards" She growled as she left the room.

"That's how we take care of business boys!" I yelled in victory as we exchanged high-fives.

"Tomorrow, we'll show them." The shorter boy spoke confidently.

"You know it." Devante reassured his ego.

_Tomorrow,_ I think. _That's what it all comes down to, if we don't show our stuff, we're stuck here another year._

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX

I awake to the sound of a Hovermech. _They're here!_ I turn to find Tyson already awake, and dressed for combat. "Wake up Robert, I'll get ready." I spoke quietly, according to my Com-Link; it roughly 4:30 in the morning, the rest of the room was dead asleep.

"I'm up, I'm uuu...ahhhugh" Robert yawned.

_Now, we make a grand entrance, and make our impressions to the judges, before the rest wake up._ I look behind my shoulder to see Robert packing up his guns and ammo, I grab the dagger I would be returning to rose, and some brass knuckles if things become close combat, and just in case, I take the crossbow. God I loved that thing, I couldn't help it.

"Let's go." Tyson said calmly, he had played this moment over twenty times in his head in the past hour, that's how he works, he thinks over every scenario before it happens to anticipate possible outcomes, he hates being unprepared.

We walked to the entrance door, we could see Mike and carol walking off to the several Hovermech's in the distance. "Tyson, they're outside, you can use the faulty code." I remind him.

"Other door, let's drop down from the roof." He replied.

"Any reason for that?" Robert asked.

"Sound's cooler" He replied calmly. That damn goofy grin plastered to his face.

We did as he said and climbed the ladder to the top of the complex, and watched the shadowy figures come together. Michael must have decided to bring in the entire organization to judge who makes the cut. _All the better._ As they drew closer, I noticed that they all, even Mike and Carol, were wearing helmets, with mirror like face shields, effectively masking their facial features, anyone who was a spy get little information here. The only way of knowing it was them was the difference in body structures.

They were a mere 20 yards away, I looked at Tyson for the signal we had earlier discussed. He gave the hand signal, and I shot fire to the ground before them, stopping them in their tracks as many looked up in surprise.

Grasping the moment, we jumped; Robert hit the ground below with a frontal roll, stopping in a crouching position, where he held an arm down on his knee, making it almost a bow of respect. I leapt into the air, completing 3 midair front flips, all the while spraying fire, and I hit the dirt with a ground pound, shooting lightning in the air from my elements surging throughout the impact, which shot up to Tyson. Whom had shot into the air, doing several back flips, unsheathed his broadsword, and redirected the lightning to extinguish the flames, as he hit the ground, holding his blade into the ground, kneeling like a knight, in one fluid, amazing, motion. I had to give it to him, kid was an imaginative son of a bitch, and that was the most kickass display of teamwork we have ever dished out, and what an opportunity!

"Remember us?" Tyson asks.

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX

_Now __**that**__ is what I call an adrenaline rush!_ I think to myself as we stay in our landing positions, until Michael stepped forward and removed his helmet.

"You kids have come a long way." He said, gesturing for us to rise. We did, and immediately put our fists together and leaned forward in a respective kung-fu bow.

"Credit there goes to you and Mike, for training us." Robert said respectfully. We knew our place, and accepting that would help or chances immensely.

"So, I take it you knew we were coming, or do you stand on the roof at 4 in the morning all the time." Angel's voice spoke from the crowd of ebony suits.

"Eh, the fresh air is nice on the roof." Devante remarked.

"So you know what happens later today?" A random voice spoke.

"Yes, and we're ready." I say.

"Sneaky bastards, trying to improve your chances?" Mike said.

"Just being polite and welcoming the agency, but hey, call it what you will." Devante said calmly.

"Alright, well let's go inside then." Michael ordered, replacing his helm.

"So, any other people know we're here?" Grogan's voice asked.

"Not in Grey team, can't speak for Carol's team though." Robert replied. Michael gave a signal and Carol dashed off to her wing to check.

"Mike, we'll be in the obstacle course warming up." I speak for the group." If you could, inform us when breakfast begins." I request, we all give another bow and head off to the course.

"They show initiative," Michael stated.

"They also are sneaking around and apparently have means of obtaining classified information" Mike retorted.

"Is that good or bad? That's part of what we do." Another voice speaks, after that, we were out of earshot.

"Boys, mission accomplished." I smile, as we input the code and exit the compound.

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX

_Tyson was incredible, he knew exactly what to do, and when. If it weren't for him, we wouldn't have lasted a month here._ I think as we finish our 33rd lap around the obstacle course as the sun finally rises. And to our surprise, Mike actually does come out and tell us that breakfast is ready. We look at each other and smile, taking it as a sign that we were in Awakens favor.

We dash to breakfast, Devante ahead of us all. We worked our hardest to prepare for today, and we were ready, oh man were we ready. We were first in line for food, and the first outside for exorcises, but to our amazement, where the large patch of desert was where we once exorcised, was replaced with a grand arena, much like a coliseum, which had apparently risen from the ground by the look of it. This place has never ceased to amaze me. I notice a small show on one of the gigantic walls.

"Hey guys, it's Michael!" I point out. Everyone looks up, as he jumps and falls a good 30 feet head first, everyone gasps in horror as he come in contact with the ground and… Disappears in pool of shadowy blackish purple? Suddenly he shot up from the ground in a similar fashion, and stood before us.

"Hello Mercenaries in training, today, you will fight for dominance, show us your best, and you might find yourself in a new position, as an official Awaken agent!" At the final words, the crowd around us burst into an uproar of applause, we stood 100 strong, and we were pumped. "Now don't mistake me, just because you win, doesn't mean you're in the organization, we make the final decision, All of you here, though very unlikely, could become official members, or none of you, it's been 5 years since our last two members joined, and we hope you all have given it your all here, and for those of you who a lower ranked, if you show us a great effort, even if you don't find yourself in the inner circle, you may get a hefty up ranking, this is your chance, don't waste it." We look to one another, this, was going to be interesting.

Mike and Carol stepped forward. They removed their helms. "Now, we need to shorten this list down to 64, so 32 for each team, and there are 50 in each team. Anyone with a serious injury, or too weak or wimps to compete, back down now!" Mike yelled out harshly. About 4 people in each team walked off, they had a broken arm or leg from obstacle course mishaps.

"Well, that shortened the list a little bit, so I guess we'll have to force the weaker ones out." She smirked. "All right everybody! We're going to do pushups, after every 10 pushups, we're going to add a 10 pound strap to you, we'll do this until each team is down to 32 individuals!" I curse under my breath, I wasn't the best in the pushups category, but I didn't need to be, I just had to outlast 18 people, and 4 were already gone. I could do this. "If you can't keep up, or can't complete the pushup, you will be disqualified. Now, down!" She ordered, we all got in our colored groups and began.

She counted off, every time she shouted a number, we went down and came back up. Everyone in both teams made it to 10. She called rest, and Mike strapped 5 pounds to each side of our belts, and once everyone was hooked up, we began again. At about number 33, people began dropping off. By 52, I was growing tired and there were still 43 people in our group, only 3 people had given up! Green team lost a good 7 people by now, they were halfway done. I slipped in my own sweat at number 72, with 60 pounds added to my frame, I barely caught myself and brought myself back up, I swear to God, she was getting faster! 10 people down, and 4 to go, and I was running on empty at this point, Green team was already done, thank God that after number 81, the other 4 dropped to the ground, and were unable to bring their self's up.

Just as the last person fell, and Carol called it to an end, I collapsed, completely out of energy. "Robert, Robert man you okay?" Devante asked.

"I-I'll live, we all made it?" I ask.

"Sure did!" Tyson answered.

"Good, h-hey, could you get me some water? I'm o-out of breath m-man." I request

"No problem!" My exuberant friend smiled and walked off.

"Attention!" Mike shouted. "I understand you're all pretty tired after that, my grey team had a few resilient buggers in there, so you'll be given an hour's resting period while we create the schedule." You could hear the room sigh in relief simultaneously. It was beautiful. Tyson came back with a full canteen; we all split and sat in a shaded corner.

"Great job Robert, I'm proud of what you've done." Tyson said, go ahead and take a shot nap, I'll wake you up in 20 minutes so you'll have plenty of time to get your game back on.

"Oh God thank you." I mutter as I slip into unconsciousness' sweet embrace.

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX

"Hey Tyson?" I ask.

"'Sup bro?" He replies.

"Say that again and I will hurt you, but anyway, remember back when we could barely do 5 pushups? And now we practically breezed through 80!" I laughed. I looked down at our sleeping friend, out of the three of us, he was the worst at pushups, but he still pulled through, if he didn't spend so much damn time in target practice, he might be better at physical activity!

"Well, time's up, wake up Robert." I say shaking him.

"Y-yeah. Thanks for the rest guys, how much longer is our break?" He asks, yawning midway.

"Around 35 minutes, come on, load you're gun." Tyson tells him.

"Not neccicary," Carol interrupts, "We can't have you killing each other, so you'll be given very weak and brittle ink bullets and very strong vital marked, bulletproof vests. The red ink will spray, and if it hits a vital point, or enough times on a person, they'll lose. They're also be ink lined blunted blades, for Tyson, and Devante, you're fine with the brass knuckles as long as you don't get carried away, elements are fine, just keep it level one." She informed us.

Over intense training, I had ascended my fire to level two, and I almost had lightning there too. I couldn't wait for that power to show itself to me. We followed Carol to the tournament weapons, Tyson and Robert loaded up. Then Tyson and I collected the blunt versions of our weapons, but I stashed away the sharp dagger in my arrow pack, which had been replaced with the blunted copies.

"Alright kid's, head to the central area of the arena. There, you will be assigned spots in the tournament." Carol informed us. "And you can expect to fight your own team, along with your opposing team, we never said it was only going to be grey vs. green."

_Great, now I have to worry about fighting my friends, no matter what, I have to fight Rose._

"Hey." Tyson spoke up. "If it comes down to one of us fighting each other," Robert and I looked to our self proclaimed leader. "Don't hold back." He looked at us, not a sign of doubt in his fierce green eyes.

"Wasn't planning on it." I smirk. Then, we headed for the central area, where a good portion of the combatants were already gathered. _How did we fall so far behind all these people? _I look over to Robert, who yawned and stretched his limbs in a lazy fusion. _Oh, yeah. Shorty got tired. _

"Welcome trainees!" Mikes voice boomed. 'We'll go in alphabetical order, when your name is called, come forward and pick your number." He gestured to a steel rotating spherical cage, which contained an assortment of numbered balls. "Then, we'll put your name into the chart," Again, he gestured, this time to a large board on the side of the coliseum, which held the typical image of a tournament chart. "Got it? Good." He answered his own, rhetorical, question.

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX

I listened intently as the numbers rolled off. People from both teams went up and claimed their number. Finally, my name came up. "Tyson Balthen!" I walked up to claim my number.

I reached into the steel cage and pulled out a number: 11. "Alright, Tyson is number 11" Carol shouted out. I placed my name on the spot marked for me. 10 hadn't been called yet, but I was confident, that I wouldn't be facing anyone strong for a few rounds.

I stopped paying attention after my turn; I listened only after hearing a relevant name or number. Devante Dickerson: 62- Felix Nelson: 12- Chad Nester: 39- Robert Sodawasser: 47- Rose Warren: 53. That was all I needed to hear. I was the only one on the left division, the rest of the guys, and Rose and Chad, were both on the right. I was positive, that my break way to the top would be a cinch. It was the other guys I'm worried about.

_If I am the only one to be passed into the organization, how could I leave them behind? Would they leave me behind? Definitely. They trust my abilities enough to go it alone. Do I trust theirs? Yes… I'll do whatever it takes, to get them in, but in the end, we may be split apart._

"Hey guys." I speak up.

"Hmm?" Robert looks to me.

"We don't hold each other back, if we don't all make it, we leave who's left. No matter what, our home must be avenged." I look to them for a reaction. Only agreement with nods of their heads. "Good, you guys ready? Their calling the last number." I ask.

"Don't worry about us Tyson." The shorter one tells me, "You're up first." He smirks.

"Right." I smile.

"Alright that's everyone!"Carol announces. "Everyone, please move to the stands while you await your match!" with that, everyone but Mike, Carol, and the first two combatants exit.

"Ready for a show guys?" Devante asks.

"Are you kidding me? I've been waiting for this for a **long** time." Robert smiles.

"Ditto." I smirk.

"Well then, we're all on the same page." Devante says as the two trainees on the ground charged at each other. The challenge of our lives had finally begun.

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX

We waited through several matches, a total of 5 before my name was called. "Tyson and Felix! Step up or back down!" Mike called out. "You have 10 minutes to finish preparations."

"Felix… Nelson was it? Ever heard of the guy?" I asked my comrades.

"I saw him once at Chad's table at lunch, He's a brute, someone tried to swipe his chicken and he nearly beat his face in." Robert explained. "He holds a huge ax. You might want to keep it a long distance battle. To your advantage, he's kind of slow, find an opening and strike."

"Right, thanks." I mutter while thinking over several scenarios of combat in my head, building my strategy.

"Hey, Tyson." Devante held my shoulder as I was about to walk off. "I would wish you good luck, but you don't believe in that do you?" Devante asked me.

"Luck? Who needs it?" I smile at an old phrase that was my father's motto. "_I've _got destiny_._

"Right, sure you do." My friend remarked as I headed down to the ground level for my first match.

I glanced at the beautiful architecture of the structure, built exactly as the one in ancient Rome was presumed to be before its deterioration. _Today, I am a gladiator, and I must please my audience._ I thought playfully as I entered the center of the structure. Here, my opponent was already waiting. A Green team member. And true to his description, a real muscle head with a giant double edged battle ax with very few chinks in the edge, showing either its early age, or his great ability to take care of it. He wore the equipment that everyone else was forced to wear. His, slightly ripped from his engorged form.

"This? This is my opponent? Whatever, hopefully you'll give me someone strong next round." He spoke with a raspy deep voice.

"Weak? This is a Grey team Elite rank soldier. Don't underestimate him." Mike actually defended me… He must really have a distaste for Green team if he was favoring me, we he must like me to an extent, he did award me an Elite rank.

"Him? Elite? You're kidding me!" He scoffed, he struck a nerve too. No one mocks my accomplishments. "Wow, what low standards they have on Grey team!"

"Keep saying that after I knock you down King Kong." I strike back. "What's you're rank? Commando?"

"That's right punk, if you were on Green, you'd be nothing more than an Apprentice!" He retorted.

"Really? Because that's supposed to be a threat from someone two ranks behind me? I'm giving you a warning; you don't want to mess with your superiors." I retort with a smartass smirk on.

"Superior! I just told you you're little more than an Apprentice to me! 4 ranks behind me!" He snaps.

"Well then, prove it!" I pull out my broad sword.

"I plan to!" He roared in anger as he clasped his battle ax.

From the stands Robert shouted down to me. "I said **distance!** Distance combat you retard!"

"I heard you! I don't need any strategy for this guy. He exposed his weakness. This battle is already over." I taunt.

"Those are some pretty big words small fry!" The beast before me Shouted out as Mike signaled for the match to start.

"Make the first move blockhead." I say nonchalantly. He took the opportunity to charge me. Head first.

I easily side step him, and he struggled to stop and turn to face me. "Well, I told you to make the first move, I'm waiting."

"Don't toy with me!" He growled in return, running toward me with ax in hand. As he swung down, I jumped over his blade, landing behind him.

"Come on, is this the best Green team has?" I ask.

"Fight damnit!" He erupted.

"Oh, so I can make the first move?" I ask innocently.

"If it means you'll stop running." He barked.

"Running? I've barely moved this match… About two or three steps maybe." I pretended to ponder.

'Don't mess with me!" He almost cried.

"Alright, I'll make the first move then, hope your speed isn't thrown off by your size." I warn him as I gripped my sword. In a flash, I was on offense. Slashing at his feet as he backed away, he began to sweat as he found I left no opening in my cuts. He finally hit the wall, and gripping his weapon, he closed his eyes and made a desperate chop towards me.

I made one final maneuver, and I looked to Mike. "I believe this match is over."

"Right. Winner… Tyson." He announced.

Felix snapped his eyes open. "What?" He screamed. His anger subsided in fear as he looked to his current position. Ax stuck in the ground, me standing on the handle, with my sword an inch away from piercing his Adams apple.

"You don't taunt Elite's Plain and simple. I say, standing down. Sheathing my blade, and giving a respectful bow to the members of Awaken, who had a reserved section of the coliseum. Yeah I showed off, I had to teach the Green team to back off, and Show the members that I was a level headed asset.

"I can't believe I lost to you." He muttered.

"I can. I warned you, didn't I?" I scoffed as I walked away, ready for the second round.

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX

I couldn't believe my eyes as Tyson knocked that brute down to size. He proved my advice of keeping his distance unneccicary; I had no doubt that Awaken was already considering him.

He returned to his seat, not a bead of sweat on his face, completely relaxed. "That boys, is how we're gonna take of business here.

"No doubt!" Devante couldn't stop laughing at the sight of Felix's face when he lost.

"Alright, so now we wait for our turns…" I say, thinking about how I should go about my matches. And about the ballistics knife I swiped from the armory, if worse comes to worse, I've got a backup weapon.

"Hey, this is kinda like going out to a sport right? So where are the concessions?" Devante questioned.

"Dunno… Let's go look. I could go for a snack." Tyson replied. "You coming Robert?" He asked me.

"Nah, I'll watch everyone's spots and look for anyone who looks tough while you're gone." I say "Bring me back some popcorn or something though, I'm starved!" I shout to them as they began walking away.

By some miracle, they returned with arms full of snacks and drinks. "This is going to take all day… So we brought plenty." Devante smirked.

"Where the hell you'd find all this?" I question.

"Broke into the kitchen, stole some chips and drinks, and then I dug into my secret stash for the sweets. Enjoy buddy!" He smiled tossing me a cream filled pastry.

"Nice, we sure do know how to break rules around here, don't we?" I smile to my good friends.

"Of course. To get to the top, we've gotta step on a few people." Tyson looked me dead in the eye, some sort secret message was supposed to be passed onto me, but I couldn't decipher it. Tyson never quite realized not everyone was as smart as he was.

So we sat, snacked, and watched a good 13 more matches before a name of interest popped up. "Chad Nelson and Victor Rodriguez!" Carol called out, we had finally entered the second portion of the first round, and sun was beginning to fall from its noon position. "Please come down to face off!"

"Hey guys, I just realized something." I Say. Tyson looks over in slight interest.

"We've never seen Chad's weapon of choice have we?" I ask.

"No, we have. First day here, we saw him with some sort of wire." Devante remarked.

"Wow! Devante remembered something!" Tyson joked.

"I swear to God!" Devante moved to strangle Tyson, only to take a playful jab to the gut, stopping him in his tracks. My friends, can't live without 'em.

We watched as Chad began his match, a little witty banter and self righteous bragging, and then he shot his wire out his sleeve, narrowly it missed his opponents spear, striking him directly in one of the marked vital points, electrocuting him immediately, he collapsed, but was still breathing and in good condition, just temporarily paralyzed.

"Damn. Be careful of his movements guys, he has skill and precision. Keep your distance, no bullshit taunting, strike first. Got it?" Tyson immediately began lecturing after a quick analysis of his situation. I swear the guy had the mind of a supercomputer.

"Got it." I return.

"Don't worry Tyson, we can take him." Devante displayed some overconfidence. I was worried that would be downfall.

"Hey, don't get cocky. We can't afford to be left behind; we need to get out to the world now. This place is so dull; I can't stand the thought of another year here." I complain.

"Hey hey, cool your jets shorty, I get it, I get it." He backed off. "Hey, your match is coming up soon, remember to keep it cool." He relayed to me.

"Right."

So we waited it out, and sure enough, 3 more matches took place, then my name was called. "Robert Sodawasser, Brandon Vilene, come down, and give us a hell of a match!" Mike called out.

"Brandon is on Grey team right? Holds a baseball bat?" Devante scoffed.

"Yeah, it'll be over quick, one or two shots will take him out." I confirm.

"Well, see ya soon then; don let him close that distance. So basically, if a baseball doesn't come for you or something like that, just don't trip or drop your gun or some stupid crap like that." _Well, what can you expect from Tyson's half assed pep talk?_

"Whatever, I'll be right back." I inform them.

I look through the incredible stone architecture on my way down; it was hard not to acknowledge such genius design. I went through the entrance to the center area to find Brandon complaining to mike about an unfair fight, while he was met with a snappy 'life ain't fair.'

"Damnit, I might as well give in, you've got guns and Elite status." Brandon murmured.

"But you won't will you?" I asked him. He jolted his hanging head up to see my smile.

"No way." He regained some confidence, and looked for Mike to give the signal. When he received it, he bolted for me.

I mimicked Tyson, and sidestepped him, then he unexpectedly turned mid run, making the bat in his hands fly at me. I quickly ducked to avoid the concussion and pulled my pistol on him, shooting the ink bullet point blank on his chest. Mike called an end to the match.

"D-damnit!" He muttered, feeling the impact of the gun, while not techniquely dangerous, must still hurt like hell.

"Don't be so down, that move truly surprised me, just need to work on that form of yours, and try strategizing what you can do to deal with marksmen." I pat the boy of similar age on the head as I walked back to my seat.

"Heh, damn do I have a taste for Elites." Mike complimented himself.

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I look to the entrance as our friend returned. "Well Devante, you're the last one of us to go, don't lose and disgrace us now." Robert said sticking his tongue out.

"As if small fry! I'm gonna finish my match in one hit, just watch. I'll get him to monologue or something and finish the bastard!" I claim.

"Sure you will." Tyson smirked.

These are the moments that I cherish more than anything, when we forget training, when we forget our horrors and past and war, and revert to when we were kids and just playfully argued. I decided a long time ago to grow up, but never mature. I've been trying my damnedest to follow through with it despite what we've gone through.

"Whatever." I smile and shrug off, passing Robert another treat.

"Thanks man." He mutters complete forgetting our prior joking, mere seconds after it's occurrence, same as always.

"No problem."

Another two matches go by when a name of interest appeared. "Rose Warren, Zeke Shyster, come down!" Carol Called.

"She better win." I say, only to have my friends stare back to me, questioning my motives.

"Hey, why don't you want her to go down?" Robert asked.

"Idiot, Devante has a rival, he wants to face her himself." Tyson speaks for me.

"That's right, she's mine!" I roar, receiving dirty and curious looks from a good portion of the arena, including two or three Awaken members looking my way.

"Yeah, you can sit down now." Robert chuckled; I hadn't even noticed I had leapt to my feet at my outburst.

"R-right." I mutter taking my seat.

"Thank you for that Devante, now, begin the match!" Carol laughed off, acknowledging my stupidity, erecting laughs from most of the present parties, furthering my shame.

"I swear to God, I'm going to kill that woman." I growl, eliciting more chuckles from my friends.

"This is going to be my best, day, ever." Tyson laughs.

"Shut the hell up." I bark.

I turned my attention to the match, just in time to see a dagger lodge itself into Zeke's vest, directly at the heart, ending the match. As soon as the match was called, Rose looked me directly in the eye, and we made our bond, that neither of us would lose until we faced each other.

Over the next three matches, we joked, ate, and drank through, wasting time, until my name was called.

"Fredrick Ingalls, Devante Dickerson, Please report to the arena!" Mike called us out.

"I'll be back, give me three minutes." I state confidently. Walking off before either of my comrades could yell a comeback.

I hurried down to the grounds, before my opponent, who apparently sat higher than we did, or was unbearably slow. I briskly cross Mike and whisper a request into his ear. He nods in approval.

As soon as my opponent stood before, Mike signaled the beginning of the match. "Wait wh-" my opponent questioned before he was engulfed in ice.

"Match over, combatant immobilized." I state, Mike agreed and signaled the end of the match before I thawed Fredrick.

"-at." He finished his question. "Hey! Where are you going? We have a match!" he shouts at my apparent retreat.

"Match is over, you lost!" I erupted. Running back to my spot to make my three minute mark.

"Good work." Tyson said calmly.

"Oh shut up, you know you're jealous." I jest.

"Well we all made first round, five more to go." Robert cheered.

"And we still have half our snacks!" I add.

"Alright boys, now comes the fun part, all the weaklings have been taken out, so we can enjoy a challenge." Tyson smirked.

"Yeah." I reply as the final match ends.

This competition, was going to be our _Bitch!_

Awaken

(A.N.) Well, hope you enjoyed your share of action, next chapter, the finale, a good portion of the tornament will be skipped to go to the main battles, as you may have noticed. Now about the Anime, I'll give you 3 hints, 1 You can watch it on subbed or dubbed, 2 The English version has been redone once, and is in the process of being remade again, 3 It has one of the most popular abridged series of all time based on it. Can you guess? Hope one of you can guess. Hope to see you all again in a week or two for the finally of Awaken: Book of Beginnings!


	10. Chapter 10 Beggining of the Legecy, The

(A.N.) Ok, this was sopposed to be posted a week ago, but I hadn't expected an error that wouldn't allow for me to log on, so instead of patiently waiting said error out, I pretty much redid the chapter, and now its about 2,500 words longer, overall, not bad. By far my new longest chapter, and should remain that way for several months. Standing at 10,332 words, Chapter 10! Don't expect anything at this lengh for a while. The update schedual has officialy moved to two weeks since I've recently been promoted, and now have much less time to write due to extended hours, and I now work saturdays. Not that I did well with weekly updates anyway, but still. The reward question has so far remained unanswered, but that's not surprising since last chapter only recieved one or two reviews, so it's still up for grabs, the first person to get it right recieves the mystery prize. So for now, enjoy the final chapter of Awaken: Book of Beginnings. Warning, if you are not a fan of explosions and war type environments, I suggest you avoid the last part of this chapter.

Awaken: Book of Beginnings

Chapter 10: The Beginning of the Legacy, The Trio's Great Stand!

"_A legacy, is much more than a story, it is the heart and soul of every character, every event clashing into a great tale that lives on forever. Be it in text or memory, legacies never die._

And so it was, that we tore through all competition in our way, for the following two more rounds, we each faced stronger opponents, ones that weren't taken down by simple tricks and one hit knockouts, well except for me, I tore apart my opponents with my blade, both people practically risked their lives by daring to remain in the battle after the first strike, I show no mercy.

Devante and Robert however, weren't as lucky with their opponents; they stood their ground effectively, and had great weapon strategy, but were still no match for my team.

"Hey Tyson, how about we begin to name our attacks." Devante asked.

"We'll sound like retards." I tell him.

"I know. But I bet you won't do it." He challenged.

"You're on, if I do it, then you both have to do it too." I say.

"Hey, why are dragging me into this?" Robert whined slightly

"Because, we're friends, aren't we." I ask.

"That doesn't have anything to do with this!" He complains.

"Ha ha! Tyson, you son of a bitch!" Devante laughed off, breaking the current subject into something else entirely. "You're going into match three already, and have yet to break a sweat, and you're not playing around like in the first round! You gonna let them at least attempt an attack this time?"

"Not a chance!" I smile, "If they can't last one hit, then they don't deserve to be there."

"Well, just don't get to cocky, we don't need you getting eliminated first." Robert said, giving me a playful punch in the arm as I walked off.

"Please, we all know you or Devante will be eliminated, right before fighting me. That's how the board is set." I stop my walking to point out the chart, this was our greatest round right now, with me facing the Grey teams 4th top trainee, behind us, Salvador Grands, whose shotgun tore through his enemies, Chad and Robert facing each other to settle an old score shortly after, and immediately after that match, Devante faces Rose! If we all won, then we'd be in the semi finals, guaranteeing at least one of us going into the final round.

"And we all know who wins that fight Robert!" Devante bellowed.

"Yeah, me!" The shorter boy mocked.

"Wrong! The correct answer is me leprechaun!" Devante delivered.

"Either way, you'll both lose to me." I remind them.

"Keep laughing, you damn mouthy bastard. I'll be the one with the last laugh!" Devante grinded his teeth.

"As if!" Robert returned. I left them to argue, fueling each other's fires to win, exactly as planned. I knew how to pull their strings, how to force them to be their absolute best. That's why I'm the self proclaimed leader of the group, center stage, and the one giving orders, but I'll always be the one to take the first hit, that's my responsibility, as the leader. And any leader, who stands behind his men, is nothing but a spineless piece of trash. That's how I am, that's my mind set, and that's why as long as I breathe, my team will not die. The simulation taught me that. I can't allow my last living friends die on me.

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"Tyson, Salvador, are you ready?" Mike asks us.

"Always." I reply.

"Of course." My opponent states.

"Good, then begin." The Grey team leader signaled.

We took our battle stances. "Are you going to finish me in one hit?"

"Only if you let me Sally" I taunt.

"How many times do I have to tell you…" He grunted at the use of the taboo nickname.

"32." I respond.

"Well, that's a shame; it's easier to shoot you than to tell you 5 more times." _The bastard actually counted the times he told me not use that name? What a freak._

As he turned off his safety, I charged him, blade in hand. He aimed and shot, but I tucked and combat rolled out of the way, not losing any momentum. So he continuously shot, as I closed the distance between us.

"Tyson! Do the technique we discussed!" Robert shot out.

I nod in his direction, before jumping in the air, a mere 5 meters away from Salvador. "Fool, your dead meat in the air!" He shouted out, pulling the trigger of his gun, only to have lightning shoot down the barrel of his precious weapon. He suffered from the shock of the attack, and was stunned.

"Wh- where are you, you bastard." Salvador grunted.

"Behind you!" His friends shouted to him. _I guess we aren't the only ones entitled to backup._

He turned to view me in my combat stance.

"It's over now Salvador!" I boast. "Ice blade barrage!" I shout out to him creating over a dozen ice fixtures, sharpened to a point. I point my blade to him, signaling my elemental creation to shot to him.

He shot at my attack, shattering them _seven, eight, perfect._ I burst forward, jumping over my ice, blade ready, "Game over, shining sword attack! I was in the perfect position, the blade reflected the suns light into Salvador's eyes, blinding him, so when I twisted to different position, he couldn't see.

With one fine sweep, it was over, the blade halted at his neck. "Match over." Mike called.

I walked away without a word, I wasn't confident without reason.

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"That's our Tyson!" Devante cheered as our friend returned.

"Can you follow through, Robert?" Tyson glared into my soul. He was questioning my determination.

"If I can't it's no one's fault but my own." I say, my determination was dead on, but I knew against his weapon, I had one very specific weakness I couldn't avoid. And worse, I actually had Tyson exploit it, I could only hope Chad wasn't paying attention.

"He can handle himself." Devante reassured our talented friend.

"So, semi-finals huh? How does it feel?" I ask.

"Remember your first kiss?" He asks in turn.

"Oh, like that…" I ponder.

"Kind of, just without having to stand on your tiptoes worrying you were gonna piss your pants." Tyson snickered.

"I'll kill you bastard!" I screech, moving to strangle him, only to have a wire intercept. I move to make sure it missed me. I look in the direction it came from only to find Chad.

"Hope you're not that distracted during our match, small fry." Chad brushed off the death glare I gave him.

"I'll never stand for a douche like you stealing my lime light." I growl.

"Well, I guess I'll just have to knock you down then." He turned to leave. I jumped to my feet and blocked him from the exit.

"Where you running to? Are you scared? Oh great leader of the green team." I smirk, knowing I struck a nerve."

He sneered in disgust almost. "Grey team for life. If you pricks hadn't gotten in my way, I would have made sure you worms stayed in line."

"You can't contain us." I glare at him.

"Your so called 'brotherhood' is laughable, you are the most useless band of junkies I've ever had the displeasure of meeting." He retorted.

"What would you know of brotherhood?" I shout, moving to slug him, but he shot that damn electric wire out, he aimed for my unprotected head, the right charge would kill me instantly. I close my eyes in anticipation of the pain, which never came. I open them briefly to see Tyson had disrupted the electrically charged weapons path, with his blade, but he made sure not to cut it.

"Tyson, if you're not careful, this wire will be aiming for you." Chad spoke slowly, attempting to threaten the now fearless boy before him.

"Better that than one of my friends, but if Robert has a score to settle, then I've got to let him handle it." He spoke with his self claimed authority.

"If it wasn't for you moving me, I would have hit elite 6 months ago, instead of three." He displayed a quiet rage in his onyx eyes.

"That's the problem of your own incompetence." Tyson said, and then he got right in Chad's ear and whispered something I couldn't decipher.

Chad's eyes shot wide open, his pupils dilated, something important was said by Tyson, because Chad seemed truly afraid, but for only a few seconds, he recovered and his face returned to his ice cold glare, on the surface at least, anyone looking hard enough could still see the frightened look on his face. They exchanged a few words I couldn't hear, before growing in volume. "You seem a little too shocked to be innocent." Tyson smirked in his apparent find. "I'll give you a chance to show your true colors, you have until the end of the final match." Tyson gave me a look that spoke 'stay out of this'. I nodded in understanding and confusion.

"Robert, our match is about to start, don't chicken out on me." Chad sneered, but true fear still hung on his face. I simply smiled at his state of weakness and stepped to the exit.

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I stood before Chad, ready for his wire; he wore a mask of confidence, with evident fear still plastered there if you looked hard enough.

"Are you ready? " Carol asked, noticing some tension between the two of us.

"Well, Chad? I'm ready when you are." I smirked, trying play into his weakness in order to throw him off mine.

"Just start it already Sergeant Carol." He said hastily, obviously trying to sound confident.

"Right." She signaled the start of the match, and I immediately stated unloading shells from my pistol at the second of the draw, he whipped and cracked the wire around, due to the fact he couldn't shoot it straight at me due to the swift movements I pulled while shooting.

Instead of reloading, I pulled a different gun, with a 6 round revolver, I once again began to barrage him, rolling to him for a more direct shot, but I was almost his by electric shock in doing so.

"Robert! Do it now!" Devante yelled out.

"Damnit." I curse, remembering we had to name some of our more advance techniques. "Marine Assault! Shot trap!" I shout, pulling out my shot gun, I pounced Chad, both hands holding the shotgun's barrel directly on his face while straddling him at the hips. "Call the Match!" I shout in victory, but right before Carol could signal, Chad threw me off him, shooting his wire, aiming for a vital point, but only grazing my arm, due to an instinctive roll.

I felt my left arm go numb in response. _Shit._ I pull out my laser scoped automatic pistol. "Laser sight! Sharpshooter!" I call out. Pulling the trigger, feeling the bullets cascade from the barrel, Chad made no move to dodge, he countered with the wire.

I watched with a grim face as everything went slow motion, all 5 of the bullets that had come from the pistol exploded red ink midair as they made contact with the high speed electric mechanism shooting through them. The wire went directly into the barrel of the steel gun. _Game over_. I felt the shock erupt with the electricity conduct through the metal and the current flowed into my nervous system, paralyzing me.

"Now, call the match." Chad shot to Carol. I was powerless to stop her.

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"Bullshit! Bullshit! Buullshhhiiiit!" I erupt in anger.

"Robert was well aware this would happen if he wasn't careful. It's no use challenging the call; you need to beat Rose to avenge Robert." Tyson speaks as Angel flew from her seat to Robert's aid, just as she had for the other shock victims. He was up and moving within the minute.

"Damnit!" I yell, crushing the empty seat in front of me with my bare fist.

"Come on, this is the match you've been aiming for, Rose is already down there, waiting." Tyson pointed out.

"I'll take the bitch down." I promise and in one leap, went from my near top row seat of the 30 ft. tall coliseum and landed with a fiery (literally) ground pound. "Just start the damn match Carol, don't even bother to ask." I growl.

She nodded in understanding, and signaled.

"Well, tubby, you've come a long way now haven't you?" Rose smirked.

"Yes, I have, and along the way, I surpassed you. A long, long, time ago." I retorted.

She flinched at the remark. "You insufferable-" she was cut off by one of my powerful fireballs rushing towards her.

"You saw that the match started, right?" I nearly double over in laughter at her face, filled with shock and rage.

"That's it, you deserve no mercy!" She said pulling several of her daggers out.

"Who asked for mercy? Go all out, so you look that much more pathetic when I **crush** you!" I smirk. She took her battle stance in response. "Are you ready for me?" I ask, not waiting for her answer as I began rapidly shooting lightning.

"More ready than you could comprehend." The obsidian haired witch of a woman retorted coolly. Dodging every burst of lightning, she went to offensive, shooting her expertly aimed daggers, which were deflected by stone walls erupting from the ground. I had created a labyrinth_, at least I think that's the smart word for maze; damn Tyson always has to be a goddamned grammar police about shit like this,_ around us.

"I'd like to play a game, Rose. In 30 seconds, these walls will begin spinning, some will collide, some will have spikes erupting from them, and some will simply disappear, survive for two minutes, and a clear path will be made to me, I'll be vulnerable, can you take advantage of the opportunity? This has become a test of skill, show me if you're worth fighting anymore. Frankly, your display so far has deeply disappointed me." I announce, showing the disappointment in my voice at the end.

"You just wait fatty! I'm coming for you!" She shouted, the walls began spinning, and I leapt to the air to see her progress, she was so busy evading the torture, she hadn't noticed to opening. The great puzzle before my eyes that I had so ingeniously created, was working to perfection, walls merged and disappeared at my control, forming an entirely new path, one that would eventually lead to my location, and Rose was making her way along. I landed on the ground, and prepared my attack, I had timed this just as Tyson had advised me to, to give exactly 20 seconds of an opening, if she failed to take me out in time, it would be most unfortunate. The large ball of fire, which I struggled to keep from ascending to level two, I wasn't used to holding back, but I made up for its lack of intensity in size. _One minute left, after that, you're opportunity disappears Rose; don't disgrace me, my rival._

The path was soon opened, and the opening began, Rose was clearly sprinting for me, her face became overcome with shock at the sight of the incredible inferno in my hand. She recovered as quick as she could, before unleashing a barrage of daggers, but a second too late, the attack had escalated to a size which had melted her assault before they could reach me. "So close Rose! But it's game over now! Vengeance Flame, Fireworks Finally!" I announce, shooting the massive blaze to her. When she realized that the stone walls had imprisoned her, and had enclosed at the top to prevent her from jumping, she simply covered her body pointlessly with her arms and closed her eyes, whilst screaming in agony of the thought of the imminent pain. Which quite hilariously never came, I had dissipated the fire blast so I could charge her and as she opened her eyes in confusion of her anticipations delay, she was tackled viciously, as I collapsed most of the rock walls so the lower level seated people could witness this matched end. With a violent shove, I had pinned her to the last remaining wall and pulled the precious dagger from my arrow pack, which had had very little use in this competition. "Final Laugh, Comeback Strike!" I announce. Shoving the dagger into her sleeve near the shoulder, tacking her to the wall, and summoning a flame to my hand, I point to her face. "Call the match. This display is over." I say somberly, hoping that she had gotten the message I had longed to give her.

"Match, Devante!" Mike announced proudly. I grabbed the dagger and removed it from the wall, but not the sleeve, and collapsed the stone structure. She fell to her knees, all the while hyperventilating.

"That belongs to you, now never underestimates me again, got it Rose?" I ask her, almost sad at her pathetic performance when put on the spot, how she had possibly come this far, I couldn't understand.

"Y-yes, sir- Devante." She gasped for breath, and had admitted to submission. I was the superior. I smile at the knowledge that I had gotten some respect, and my message rang loud and clear in her head, and lend out my hand in support. She grabbed it and I helped her up.

"No hard feelings, right?" I ask her, arms wide open.

"Not even close, Devante." She struggled adjusting to the new title, but accepted the hug. "I concede to defeat, at the hands of one of Awakens next agent." She smiled. I was blown away, either I had knocked not only a screw loose, but a whole friggin' wall in that head of hers, or she really needed to come to a realization.

"Hey, I'm only in the semi finals; I've still got two people to beat, one of whom just happens to be your partner, Chad." I inform her. At this, she grabbed my collar and pulled her mouth to my ear.

"I saw the member's reactions, you're in for sure, but I'm still rooting for you, Chad will probably dump me for this loss, but I don't need him anymore. You've taught me that." She whispered excitedly. _So that's why, I had no idea that the two were dating, but it seems her relationship was to solely stay behind the strongest. Now, she knows if she's ever to pass her life's obstacles, she must stand on her own ground, just as I and my friends do._ I smile at the thought of how I had unknowingly changed someone's life way beyond my original intentions, and for the better at that!

"Ok, Rose, well then, I hope you can be a member with me too, so we can become friends. Even if you don't, you'll make it next year right?" I ask her, a bit hopeful too, something about this new Rose, I liked. Maybe it was the respect, maybe it was the sincerity, whatever it was, I wanted it to stay with her.

"Of course. Now go to your other friends, they're waiting for you." The reborn girl told me.

"Hey, one of the guy's sitting next to us was put in the infirmary for a shattered spine, even with Angels healing; he still won't walk for a good month. Come sit with us. Please?" I ask, as friendly as I could. I had a feeling she was no longer welcome at her old spot.

Her face was one filled with surprise. "Oh- O.K., just- just let me go break it off with Chad." She said, a bit shakily, as if she was afraid.

I put my hand on her shoulder, in a comforting way. "Do you need me to come with you? You're a little shaken up." I look into her eyes for honesty in her next answer.

"If you would." She spoke shyly.

"O.K. Love birds, there's other matches to be had, get out of the ring." Mike ushered us out.

"You're on to talk!" The two of us shouted simultaneously, smiling at our ability to think on the same frequency.

Mike looked at the charred and wrecked coliseum center. "All right, let's take a quick 10 minute intervention, and then we shall continue with the semi-finals."

"Let's go." I simply comfort her with a hand on her back.

"O.K." She agreed, and we headed off.

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We approached Chad. Damn was he pissed too. "Rose what the hell was that!" He scolded her. She flinched at his harshness. "First you lose to that talentless fat-ass, and then you have the gull to turn your back on me and become all buddy-buddy with him?" He questioned her.

"He is not talentless! Not even you can control two simultaneous elements, not to mention at the strength and speed he did! And he's not all that fat anymore Chad!" She argued.

"So what, are you just going to turn your back on your friends?" He poked her in the chest, almost throwing her of balance.

"What friends? You scare everyone off who doesn't obediently tail you like a lost puppy by intimidating them! I'm through with all this- bullshit! We're over Chad. I'll be hanging out with the strongest three people in this entire compound for the rest of the evening. Don't even try approaching me again." In one quick movement, she gripped the old dagger that I had implanted into her sleeve just a few minutes earlier, which was indeed a sharpened one, and maneuvered behind him, and pressed the unforgiving steel to his throat, barely piercing the thinnest layer of skin, but not enough to draw blood. "Or I won't be as merciful as I am now." She coldly hissed. "Are we clear?" He nodded in response. She released him, grabbed my arm, and turned to leave.

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX

When I walked up with Rose tailing me, the guy's were worried. "Don't worry, as far as I'm concerned, she's one of us now." I told them. That eased the mind of the guys, especially after she told them how she handled Chad, at that point, they had fully warmed up to her, especially Robert.

"So you think Devante is going to be member huh?" Robert questioned.

"No, I **know **he will, there's not a doubt in my mind." She proudly stated. "I'm pretty sure Tyson will be too, but it's me and you I'm worried about Robert." She revealed honestly.

"Have confidence Rose, we already know we may not all make it, so we're resolved to let those who don't continue training here." Tyson replied confidently.

"Tyson, you should start heading to your match, see you after the finals buddy." I pat him on his back.

"Don't you mean in the finals?" Our newest friend questioned.

Sorry Rose, I used pretty much all my energy in our fight. I can't beat Chad, but Tyson can, I know he can." I foretold.

"Alright, but keep a positive attitude, you may still win." Tyson spoke, and the rest of the group nodded, assuring me.

"Right. Good luck Tyson." I wish to him.

"Who needs luck?" He plays on "We've got destiny.

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"Alright everyone, this is it! The semi-finals! The winner of this match will become a contender in the final battle of supremacy." Mike announced. "For the first match of the semi-finals, we have star pupil and Grey team Elite, without a single scratch on him, Tyson Balthen." I emerged from the entrance to face the 100+ spectators. "And Green team Rookie, Yuma Fei, who has fought tooth and nail to reach this point of the competition. She has already been decidedly up ranked twice today because of her epic performance today." A girl of about 13 years of age approached me; she had one hand in her pocket of the green cargo pants she wore as part of the base uniform. The other hand spun small fire balls in the air in a fast circle, a face of boredom on plastered on. She was covered in bruises and cuts, and her red hair was covered in dirt and a bit of blood. I had to admit I was nervous, I wasn't one who enjoyed bringing harm to girls, especially younger ones. I had constantly worried about being assigned the assignation of a woman in the future. I hadn't fought a woman all day, and was a bit reluctant to start today.

"Tyson?" The girl questioned me. I nod to her in show of attention. "Don't bore me like the other competition."

"Only if you can get me to actually fight. All I've done all day is toy around with opponents who run around like chickens with their heads cut off." I inform her

"I'll do my best. But know that I haven't even used half my ability yet today." She remarked.

"Good, then I get to see something interesting." I smirk as the signal to begin is given. Determined to warm up before the finals, I go in with my sword ready, no bullshit this time. Blade in hand I charge to the young girl who began charging intense balls of fire.

"Like how you guys have been naming attacks, mind if I join in?" Yuma asked.

"Not at all, just as long as you can keep up." I challenge the teen.

"Very well, Scatter Flames!" She called out, unleashing dozens of small bullet like fireballs. I dodged them expertly, swiftly advancing through the battle field, I readied my sword, while surging a current of electricity through the steel. When I was only a few meters away from my adversary, I leaped into the air.

"Shocking Counter Strike!" I shout out, increasing the voltage so it began to dance off of the broadsword. She did an excellent dodge roll to escape, and when my attack struck ground, a loud thunder erupted, and a blinding flash emitted, allowing for my follow up. "Sneak Shard!" I announce, creating large ice blocks, which shattered in the air from the leaping current.

The shards began to fly wildly in the battlefield in hope of striking the enemy. "Where are you aiming? Blast Flame!" Yuma's voice echoed through the air, and just when the flash had receded had I noticed the large ball of fire above me, similar to Devante's earlier attack, in both size and intensity. As the gigantic flame, twice as tall as me, rushed toward me, I created a large ice shard, and sent it flying through, it's size was just large enough to survive the heat, and flew straight through both heading for Yuma's heart and creating a large hole in the burning mass above me.

I take the small opportunity and jump through the hole, suffering a minor burn to the arm; I pull my revolver from its holster and shot at the teen who was preoccupied avoiding a large ice chard at the moment. I shot three bullets, and she grew aware of me. The first bullet struck her in the left arm (The one that wasn't in her pocket.) but she avoided the other two, however, due to this movement, the ice structure had grazed her ribcage, making sufficient damage to her protective gear, and causing a good deal of blood red ink to spread over her arm. She fell to the ground, writhing in pain as her previous attack struck center ring and exploded in a brilliant inferno. I acted quickly and encased myself in ice, while at the same time building an ice wall along with several members to protect the more front row spectators from serious burns.

I hit the ground as the explosion ceased. My ice shielding shattered from the impact, and I got a view of the blazing landscape, incredibly charred, and a young girl in the center of it, badly burned and struggling to stand. "Yuma, you've taken excessive damage, for your safety, you may want to concede defeat." I call out to her.

"Not yet, I can't lose yet. I've got one last resort. She pulled her right hand from her badly charred and torn pants; the hand had been replaced with some vicious set of claws, with runes in the metal. "When dictation assaulted my family and took my parents from me, I lost my hand in self defense. That's when Michael found me and helped me to recover, before allowing me to take on this replacement of choice. Now, you will be the first to witness my true strength." She warned, placing her left hand on her right arm, and the runes in her clawed hand flared with the fire element surging through it.

"Damn, that's pretty sick. You're gonna be the greatest challenge of my skill yet aren't you?" I ask, readying my automatic rifle for combat.

"Yeah, I am." The young girl answered, and began charging. I observed that she had to keep her left hand placed on her opposite arm to keep the element surging. As she swiftly moved for me, I began firing, she was as adept at avoid bullets as myself, but she allowed a few to strike her claws, those bullets either melted or ricocheted off of them.

"Hmm, as is, guns won't be very effective. So…" I say once again unsheathing my prized blade. "I guess I'll just resort to the old fashion way."

I rushed to meet her in combat, protectively encasing my sword in ice; I slash to meet her claw. The collision caused steam to rise between us. "You're stronger than I had assumed." She informed me.

"That can be a deadly miscalculation on your part." I retort.

"So I've realized." Yuma pants. We retreat from the heated clash, and swing again. This time making quick, strategic strikes. Using fast paced blocks and incredible acrobatics, we made quite the exiting sight for our viewers. We had appeared to be evenly matched in our blows. Until I resurged my ice, making it even sharper, I slash her right in the chest, the mark was deep, but didn't quite hit her vital points enough. She stumbled back, and I took the opportunity to pull my revolver. I took a brief moment to look at Carol, seeing the glint of a painful flashback in her mind; I used an old strategy of shooting and slashing simultaneously.

Yuma, as a Green team member, not surprisingly, had the same reaction as Carol from about a year ago, and had no choice but to fall back. And on the final bullet, instead of the knee, I shot her point blank in the heart, or at least the marking for where the heart was. The match end signal was given, and her claw slowly burned out, along with much of the battlefield. "You fought great Yuma, no doubt over the next year or two, you'll be strong enough to be a member, but for now, you need to work on self control. Worry less about causing your opponent damage and worry more about not getting hit. If this happened in war, you'd be dead." She nodded in understanding. The movement caused her to cringe; I quickly removed her vest and lightly lifted her tank top to see how much damage was actually done to her ribs. The entire right half of her abdomen was covered in black and blue bruises, and some bleeding.

"Angel! She has some badly damaged ribs; most of them appear as they may have been broken. Her continuing in the match may have moved her condition to critical!" I shout out. Angel rushed over to me, and together we carried her off the field, and I left Angel to heal Yuma.

"Ty-Tyson…" Her voice was barely audible as I had begun to leave. I turn on my heel to face her.

"Save your energy." I tell her.

"When you asked me to concede defeat, this was why, wasn't it? Not because you wanted to win, but you didn't want me to get hurt." She asked in a very raspy voice.

"That's right Yuma, now rest, you need it." I order as I turn to leave again. "Oh, Angel, thanks for healing her, I hope we can work together someday." I say with a respectful salute before ascending the stairs.

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Tyson came back with his first injury, it was nothing but a small burn, but it was an injury none the less. "So, she singed you huh?" I ask.

"No, it was my fault; I stuck out my arm too much when I released my gun from its holster." Tyson replied. "So Devante, You're up next, you're sure you can't win?"

"I'm pretty sure, my tanks on empty." I reply, handing Rose another snack, which was graciously accepted. "But I'll give it my all, watch his actions, and see if you can find a weakness." I inform him.

"Well I know that much." He replied.

"If you were at full power, Chad would be no match for you." Rose told me in support.

"I know that. If I was at full power, I'd avenge Robert with every fiber of my body." I sigh.

"Fuck that prick up." Robert mutters coldly.

"Will Devante and Chad Please make way for the final match of the Semi-finals!" Mike called out to us.

"I'll be back guys, remember Tyson, keep an eye on Chad." I remind my friend.

"I know, just get out there and give him your all." He gives me a thumbs up. I don't know where I'd be without these friends of mine.

So I went down to face a very irate Chad. "Listen up fatso, you took my girl, and for that-" He got right in my ear. "I'm going to kill you." He whispered. He then roughly shoved me away and told Mike to start the match.

Mike gave the signal, and I pulled my crossbow out. _Distance, keep your distance, if he gets close enough to strike with that damn wire, it's all over._

I shot my deadly accurate arrows, this caught Chad off guard apparently, because he couldn't avoid them as well as bullets for some reason. I got several arrows to land, but none in vital points. "What's wrong Chad? Never seen an arrow before?"

"Shut up!" He said, shooting lightning, which I dodged.

I set fire to a few arrows and shot them around. Again I landed a few, some almost hitting vital points. Then he jumped in the air, and swung his wire around, if I hadn't back rolled, it would have struck me right in the face.

After another barrage of arrows, I noticed I was running low. _Shit._ Chad had closed the distance between us.

"You disappoint me in your obviously exhausted state." He informed me before shooting the wire right for my heart. I caught it with my fist and countered his shock wire with a current of my own. The battle for dominance began, as our electric flow shifted, I grew more exasperated. My strength began to drain, and his wire won out, with a final burst of electricity, I drop and everything fades to black.

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"Devante!" Rose yelled as we descended to help him. Angel met us at his body, Rose was crying. "I-is he breathing?" She asked, at this point, she had fallen to her knees. I look directly to Chad, staring daggers through his heart. I turn to Mike.

"As soon as they leave, start the match!" I shout in pure rage. He nods in understanding.

"Chad, you will pay for what you did, but our agreement stands." I inform him.

"Very well, bring me your all." He challenged.

"He- he's still breathing, but just barely, let's get him to the infirmary now!" Angel orders. Robert, Rose, and Angel proceeded to carry him to safety. The rage further built within me.

Mike signaled the beginning of the match as instructed. And I drew my blade and began assaulting Chad with no remorse. Random bursts of flame and ice erupted from my blade with every few strikes. Chad began to grow accustom to my fighting style and switched to offensive. He attempted hitting me with the wire, but I deflected it with the blade. The wire appeared to be a strong metal material, because it didn't cut.

"How could you deflect my wire? The metal of your blade should have conducted the electricity!" He pressed.

"Non conductive hilt." I reply, silently thanking Mike and Carol for that feature.

"Damn you!" He cursed, shooting lightning, which was redirected again.

He gave me a swift kick to the gut, pushing me a few steps back. I regained my breath and began sprinting, once I had picked up sufficient speed, I began to run on the wall, I held my blade tightly, and jumped, and got a decent slash along his leg. Even with the dullness of the blade, a good swordsman as myself could cut just about anything.

"Is that all you've got? A fancy wire and some sloppy lightning?" I question, giving him a good slash to the chest, slightly grazing a vital point, but not enough to end the match.

He roared in aggravation, and tackled me to the ground; I threw him off of me, rose from the ground, and kicked him hard in the ribs. He doubled over in pain. His wire jetted for my leg, but was intercepted by my sword, I pulled my revolver and shot twice, but Chad jumped to his feet and dodged the bullets.

We engaged in some hand to hand combat, a flurry of punches and kicks were exchanged, he nailed me hard in the jaw, but I regained my bearings and booted him in the abdomen. He moved to shoot the wire again, so I blasted him with fire, for a short period of time, he was engulfed in flames. The flames were obliterated by a certain weapon jutting from Chad's sleeve.

I avoided the shock device and countered with my revolver. He again avoided my bullets and did a sweep kick, forcing me to the ground. He shot the wire again before I could regain my footing… but the shock never came. I looked to see that my Com-Link had been hit by the wire.

"Well, now you show your true colors Chad?" I ask, before sending my own burst of electricity through his wire, and into his circulatory system, immobilizing him.

"You've lost your proof! You have nothing on me!" Chad growled in anger.

"Except that I removed the memory disk, which is right here and completely unharmed. But first…" I press my blade to his neck. "Call the match!" Mike threw the signal, and cheers arose all around me. "Wait! Hold the cheers! Michael! Come down, I have here something that you need to look at!"

Michael descended from his uppermost row position. "What is it Tyson?"

"I know Mike contacted you, about an infiltration of files in the compound database. I also know that my friends and I are prime suspects due to our consistent troublemaking. I learned this from placing various bugs throughout the compound and eavesdropping on several conversations." I admit. "But in this memory disk to my now fried Com-Link, I have evidence that the culprit was none other than my opponent, Chad." I hand the disk to Michael, who transmitted the data to all Com-Links in the vicinity. Video evidence of Chad hacking into the main computer and flashing a Dictation insignia into the camera to grant access into what was most likely a Dictation signal. "Chad is a traitor to the organization, and a spy for the enemy." I look directly to him. "And I even gave him a second chance after he fed me a sob story…" I begin to recall our earlier interaction.

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I got right in Chad's ear. "I know you're with Dictation." I whisper so silently, Robert not even standing a mere meter away could hear. I felt him tense under the news.

"You can't possibly prove it." He hissed.

"I've got video evidence of you flashing a Dictation symbol around." I warn him.

"Y-you don't understand, I'm not one of them, I'm working undercover for Awaken making Dictation think I'm one of them." He stuttered. _Lies, lies, and more lies. _"I swear it's true."

"I don't buy it." My voice rises. "You seem a little too shocked to be innocent." I smirk. "I'll give you a chance to show your true colors, you have until the end of the final match."

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"Holy shit!" Mike gasped a look of shock and horror. "All this time, my star pupil, was seeking to bring us all down." He moped.

"Sir! Permission to use deadly threats, Sir!" I salute.

Mike struggled to cope, but Carol spoke up. "Permission granted Tyson."

I pulled my blade to Chad's neck. "Chad, you've already contacted Dictation haven't you? When are they going to be here?

As I pressed my blade farther to his throat due to his silence, he began to gasp. He was still paralyzed, and a twitch of the hand away from death. "You have… Three hours." He mumbled in hatred and a hint of fear.

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Devante was beginning to come to, his last burst of a shockwave had saved his life, without that at the moment Chad's attack hit, he would have gone into cardiac arrest.

"Oh my god!" Rose exclaimed. I, Devante, and Angel all looked to her in question. "Look at your Com-Links! Tyson's Data is streaming from Michael, some sort of video is about to load.

I looked tee it was true. A security video popped up, and before we knew it, Chad flashed a Dictation symbol.

Rose practically collapsed. "I knew he was a bad influence, I had no idea he was, one of them." Devante got out of his bed.

"Devante you shouldn't-" Angel started.

Devante pulled Rose into a hug. "It's O.K., none of knew. Except for Tyson, but… It's going to be O.K." He comforted her.

Michael appeared on the Com-Link. "Anyone fit to fight, come immediately to the dessert plains, Dictation will be here in less than three hours."

"D-damn that bastard, Robert, let's go." Devante ordered me.

"Devante, you can't fight yet, it's going to take a week for you to heal." Angel informed him.

"If I can walk I can fight." He spat, and we ran off to prepare for battle.

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"Everyone, before heading to the designated battle zone, please go collect your real weapons." Carol called out. We all went in an orderly fashion, we were trained for this, and anyone unable to do this didn't belong here.

Devante and Robert met up with me half way there and handed me my things, "No time for this, we need to set up, Robert, go to your stash and get our equipment." Devante called out. He gave me my sword last and looked me dead in the eye. "Don't let one of the bastards touch the ground."

"You took the words right from my mouth."

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I ran into our boarding room and got into my chest, and pulled out our three weapons that would be taking care of the enemy. Finally, I would be able to use my baby. I put Devante on the Com-Link. "All right, I'll set myself up on the roof and run you your weapons."

"Over and out, I'll fill you in on instructions." Devante said before cutting the line.

I headed for the roof to set up my space of lime light. "Enjoy the show Dictation." I smile.

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We waited for about an hour for Robert to show up with our WMDs. "Thanks, news is that we were right, they'll be coming in by air, expect in-between 15 to 20 aircraft, at least 5 of them carriers." I inform him.

"That's good to hear, Tyson, because that's exactly why we acquired this equipment." Robert smiled. Mike came up to us with his jaw dropped.

"How did you get-" He gasped.

"Found a connection that could drop off some great stuff about 200 miles from here. It's quite a walk, but well worth it." Devante answered.

"If all goes to plan, we won't allow one foot soldier to touch ground, let alone cause any damage." I smirk, almost bragging.

"Well, I'll be waiting at the roof; I'll alert you as soon as they come into visual. In the meantime, spread out the troops, its possible Chad has given false information." Robert had entered his war mind set.

"Very good Robert." Michael said while walking past, and then repeated Roberts order.

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I looked to the horizon, the three hours we up, and Dictation could be dropping in any minute. My ears perked art the faintest flutter of a Hover Mech. I turn to see the fleet coming in from the opposite end of the dessert. "This is Robert to all troops, Dictation is coming hot from West desert, I repeat West desert. Chad had us set up on the opposite end as expected." I announce. _Nice try douche._

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"I told you we were right to set up on the other end, Tyson." Devante laughed after hearing Robert's announcement.

"I never said you were wrong, now get a head start and shoot some maniacal bastards out of the sky." I reply

"Don't have to tell me twice." My African friend smirked before lifting the large anti-air missile launcher, and aiming it at the lead ship. "Firing in 3…2…1…" In a matter of seconds, the sky, which had begun to grow dark in the sunset, lit a glorious gold as the lead ship disappeared from existence.

I load up the heavy machine gun, and anxiously awaited for a ship to come into my range. "Tyson! Load me up; we can take out at least 3 more before they come in range."

"I'm on it!" I yell loading another missile into Devante's contraption of death.

"Firing in 3…2…1…" Another ship disappeared.

"I never knew you had such good aim." I remark, loading another missile as troops begin to gather around us.

"I don't, I'm using my fire element to explode the missile whenever it gets in it's target zone!" Devante laughs at his idea.

"Genius buddy!"

"Firing in 3…2…1…" As Devante fired, we noticed that the enemy had begun firing back, but their projectile had prematurely exploded. I look behind my shoulder, knowing that Robert had just successfully sniped a missile.

"Alright, as soon as you're done loading me up, you should be able to begin shooting!" Devante yelled as the approaching onslaught drew closer.

"Roger that!" I yell loading up his missile launcher.

"Firing in 3…"

"All units, fire at my command!" I order.

"2…"

I load my heavy machine gun one last time.

"1…"

Now! I shout as I watch the barrel begin spinning, a few seconds later, bullets began storming out. I aimed for cockpits, engines, and thrusters. And watch as ship after ship fell. The burning rage of my destroyed home welled up inside me once again, with each ship that fell; my thirst for vengeance was satisfied a little more.

"Robert! Robert, do you read me!" I shout into the Com-Link.

"Load and Clear!" He yelled back, but barely audible over the WMD in my possession.

"After Devante's next missile, begin sniping pilots and carriers!" I shout out.

"Over and out!"

Devante fired again with the help of those who had run out of ammunition firing at Hover Mechs.

Suddenly, ships began falling for no apparent reason, well not quite true. Robert had began sniping pilots and ships crashed into the vast desert. Clouds of dust and smoke had begun reaching us, and the enemy fleet was half gone.

"Out of missiles!" Devante announced.

"Start launching fireballs!" I announce.

"Not enough energy!" He responds. "I've maybe got enough energy to fire 2 or three small ones before I collapse.

"Go back up Robert then!" I order.

"Roger!" He ran off.

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I remained to continue unleashing a barrage of shells, when I ran out of ammunition, I ran to regroup with the guys. Once I reached the roof of the complex, I watched Robert intercept another enemy missile. It appeared the members of Awaken were taking care of ships cleanly.

"3 left." Robert informs us.

"The troops have run out of fire power." Devante announces.

"Time to shine boys!" I announce. "Devante, launch Robert first."

"You take the one on the left Tyson!" Robert commands.

"No problem." I smirk. "Devante, charge one last fire ball, and knock out the right turbine of Roberts Hover Mech."

"Yes sir!" He yelled as he tossed Robert. Robert, guns in hand, went flying through the air, and began shooting Dictation Soldiers as they tried to drop to the ground.

"You're up!" Devante announced.

"Check!" I yell. Getting a running start I jump onto Devante's clasped hands that he harshly raised from the ground to send me far into the air.

The wind roared in my ears as I flew, I unsheathed my sword and curled into a ball as I shattered through the Hover Mechs protective front screen. I quickly get to my feet and take out the surprised pilot, then charge in to slaughter the crew. _Dad, Mom, Dexter, this is for all of you that were lost in the invasion. This is only the beginning of your avengeance!_ The Dictation soldiers gave me a little trouble, gaining up on me, I kicked several of them off of the high flying, (and rapidly descending) carrier.

When they pulled their sub machine guns and fired, I dropped to the ground and watched as their blood sprayed after unloading round after round of hot lead into each other. "This is much easier to do than I made it out to be." I comment, pulling my blade out again, facing the last three remaining soldiers alive.

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I looked to the bloody mess I had created; bodies were strewn on the floor of the vehicle I had landed in, bullet holes penetrating their frames. I rushed to the top of the descending, unmanned vehicle, and watched the incoming fireball. I quickly got my footing on the roof and braced for the impact. A thunderous roar came as the thruster was engulfed in flames. The rapidly disintegrating aircraft began to spin. I used the motion to my advantage and sprint off of the doomed aircraft and sent a grapple hook into the hull of the center battle ship. Tyson leaped from the ship next to it as it exploded. He most likely cut the fuselage open. I grabbed his hand as we sailed to the rooftop again, where we were met by Michael. He and Devante jumped inside of the vehicle. And Dictation members flew out, marred and bloody.

Another member jumped in, and the pilot flew out, decapitated. The ship came to a gentle stop. And Michael stepped out with a lone survivor of the brutal ass raping.

"Can you pilot?" Michael questioned, squeezing the life out of the soldiers neck.

"Y-yes!" He gasped for air.

"Good, then head back where you came from, and take this trash with you!" Rose shouted as she tossed a still paralyzed Chad into the ship.

"And we have a message for your 'Leader'. We are Awaken, and you cannot defeat us, we will destroy your order." I threaten him as he was released and rushed for the pilot seat.

"G-got it." He cried as the ship took off.

Michael turned to us. "Not bad kids, not bad."

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We regrouped in the coliseum, with no casualties. "Today is a great day for Awaken. We got a great victory over the Dictation, and we have gained three new members!" Angel announced.

Rose hugged me. "I told you so." She whispered in my ear.

"How do you know it's me?" I ask.

"Just wait Devante, just wait." She replies.

"So will our three new members, Tyson Balthen, Devante Dickerson, and Robert Sodawasser please join us in the ground level.

"Told you so." Rose whispered in my ear.

"See you next year I guess." I pout.

"It's only a year, and you've only been my friend for 3 and a half hours." She smirked.

"Yeah yeah." I say as I leave with my friends to go to a new stage of our lives.

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We were awarded with badges, uniforms, and our own helmets. We were now official members, and Robert and I couldn't be happier. Robert was chosen do to his excellent defensive strategy, innovation for war tactic, and deduction of enemy plans. Devante, for his amazing display of elemental variety and strength. And myself for leadership and extraordinary battle instinct, perseverance, and swordsmanship.

"What about Rose? She has incomparable ability of sneaking and flexibility, along with uncanny aim and skill with daggers. "Devante demanded.

"We're sorry Devante, but weather she was aware of it or not, she may have been acting as an accessory to Dictation forces." Michael said regretfully. "Honestly, I believe her innocence, but I have to make choices for the best of the team. She's on one year probation, If she does well next year, she can become a member."

"D-damned Chad. Even in his downfall, he still ruins others lives." Devante growled.

"Let me handle this Devante." I say, stepping up to Michael. "Accounting on how Dictation is now aware of the Compounds location, when you come in for your monthly visit, you should bring a defensive team with you, aside from Angel." I state.

"And just how did you know-" Michael began.

"I suggest a team of three, Angel, a poison specialist, such as Grogan, and someone with massive endurance and strength, such as Devante." I smile convincingly.

Michael sighed. "Well, I have to agree with you, but please stop spying on me. It kind of worries me that you could find out these things without being detected."

"I'm just that much more of an asset and a threat not to have as a member." I look him dead in the eye.

"Very well." He sighed again. Even when he was easygoing, his eerie dark aura shined through most of all. "All right, we thank all participants of this tournament, and look forward to you all becoming stronger next year. We will be taking our leave now." He announced, in a flash, the members of Awaken had disappeared from their seats.

"Oh, and you three," Angel approached us. "Go pack your chests, we're leaving immediately. Also, new members get one request each. Think hard about what request it is you want." Her shining light made her warning seem meaningless, as if everything was peaceful. We nod in confirmation.

After packing, we went and bid farewell to our new friend Rose, and several adoring fans, we also split up momentarily to spread some inspiration to some people we had faith in. After that, we chatted on our way to the Hover Mech's, which had gone unnoticed by the dictation fleet due to that they were positioned on the opposite end of the desert. We were on our way to a new home, to a new life, but overall, we were off to…

Awaken

Wow, world record for page breaks huh? Well, this marks the end of part one of ten, being so, I'll be taking a month or so off of this story, and take time to get a couple chapters in advance for part two, so we don't repeat this broken schedual shit. Special thanks to my friend Chikinita09, who from the beginning, reviewed every chapter, and was common for her to be the first reviewer, if anyone here enjoys harry potter fanfics, I suggest heading to her profile at .net/u/1032823/chikinita09. Remember, if you want that prize, read the previous chapter for the question and hints. Remember to review, and I hope you enjoyed Awaken: Book of Beginnings. I hope to see many of you again in a few months when part two is released. So stick around fo Awaken: Book of Bonds.(Edit.) Book of Bonds is out now, for all of you people reading, but not reviewing. _I know you're there..._ The traffic reader tells me all about it.


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